#sorry if i’m bugging a lot i’m just enthusiastic about these guys

[laketoriver]

yooo i saw you ask for hl related requests Umm . Freemind and Benrey? im kinda ill about them due to my own self indulgence so id love to see your take on what their relationship would be like!! Love your art btw <3

(Prolly best to tap and view last image, little bennyboy bonus)

I didn’t know the youth yearns for this duo until i got two asks about em and ngl i’m starting to dig them. Now it’s official we gotta give these two a duoname… jokingjoking

[seungkwansphd]

room for interpretation - 3

pairing: lawyer!jeonghan x lawyer!YN word count: 9.9K synopsis: as top of class, you and jeonghan had been many things to each other. enthusiastic rivals, begrudging allies, and…parties to a jokingly written (but legally binding) marriage contingency contract? this piece of paper would’ve been long forgotten had an unexpected merger not thrown you back into each others’ lives. themes: fluff, rivals to coworkers to tentative friends to lovers, “if we’re both single by X age” marriage contract, IDIOTS2lovers, fake dating, miscommunication. this is just a romcom.

You must be losing your mind at least a little. This was the conclusion you’d come to over the weekend. You’d spent the better part of Sunday thinking about Jeonghan, the contract, and your feelings. You’d basically said that you wouldn’t mind being married to him, but that didn’t mean you actively liked him, right? So now you were slightly panicked that you’d maybe confessed something to him that you hadn’t meant to.

“How’d it go?” Maja burst into your office, demanding an update.

“Good!” you spun around to face her, eager to think about something other than Jeonghan. “They treat prospective clients the exact same way that Jillian said they treated employees. The whole place stank of elitism!”

“What did they say?”

“A lot of veiled language around ‘clients have to match the image of the brand’ and how they ‘look for a certain type and demographic of people’.”

“Yuck,” Maja blew a raspberry and gave a thumbs down. You agreed.

“And Jeonghan did a good job at playing fake fiance?” Maja couldn’t help but pry. She’d been wondering all weekend about that.

“Weirdly, yes,” you shrugged, “He’s surprisingly attentive. 

“Huh,” Maja, “Surprisingly?”

“He remembers little things that I wouldn’t have guessed he would remember.”

“I mean, you guys are friends,” Maja felt the need to remind you. Even if you didn’t accept it or realize it, your relationship with Jeonghan was in fact quite close.

“Yes! Everyone and their mother would like me to admit that I like Jeonghan. I’m friends with Jeonghan!” you threw your arms up suddenly, startling Maja.

Her eyes bugged out of her head at ‘I like Jeonghan’. Did you mean like…romantically? Or more as an extension of ‘I’m friends with Jeonghan’? She had a feeling that the question would be poorly received, so she withheld it for now.

“Sorry, it was just kind of weird. Pretending to be engaged, and then remembering the marriage contract, and then pretending to be married. I might still be processing.”

“Marriage contract? And why did you have to pretend to be married?”

“So,” you pointed at her, “When the person at the wedding venue asked us how we met, Jeonghan brought up the fact that we signed a marriage contingency contract in law school. In this fake world, of course, we realized we liked each other before the contract had to be enforced.”

Maja blinked. She was barely keeping up.

“So honestly, I had forgotten about that until he brought it up! But yeah, we did sign that, which was silly. But then we got food after the consultation and the waitress kept making eyes at him. Apparently he didn’t like that, so he kept referring to me as his wife, because we were wearing rings.”

Maja’s head spun.

“Hold on, let’s back up a second. You two signed a marriage contingency contract? What the hell does that even mean?”

“Okay, so,” you inhaled before launching into the full backstory for Maja.

You did your best to explain the context of Peter’s divorce, his declaration that law was for lonely losers, and your subsequent insistence that that didn’t apply to you. She nodded as you explained how smugly sure Jeonghan had been that you couldn’t get married and make partner before thirty and the resultant bet and contract.

She wasn’t nodding because it was reasonable, by any means. No, the whole arrangement was unhinged. She nodded because it could maybe make sense if there were repressed feelings on both sides. And even then, it was a stretch.

“Why would you sign that?” she found herself asking indignantly. Even as a non-lawyer, it seemed ill advised.

“I mean I was such a hothead in law school. I couldn’t stand it when Jeonghan called me chicken. The other thing I realized, like literally this weekend, is that it would be okay if I were contractually obligated to marry Jeonghan. Now that things with Flynn are over, I’m not gonna make the thirty year cut anyways!” you shrugged and laughed.

Maja squeezed her eyelids together. You were being an idiot of grander scale than she could’ve ever anticipated, it seemed. Maybe more than her gentle nudges were needed. Perhaps it required an actual act of God.

“You know what?” you pointed an accusatory finger at her. You had meant to stop thinking about Jeonghan! “I’ve spilled a lot of beans just now while your beans have stayed in their container. What the heck is going on with you and Harris?!”

“Ah,” Maja scratched the back of her neck. “You’re right, I’ve been keeping that to myself. Why don’t we do something fun this weekend and I can catch you up?”

“Yes!”

Maja shot you a quick thumbs up before returning to her desk. Her eyes flitted to Jeonghan’s closed office door. She wondered how much information she could get out of him if she tried.

…

Maja checked that the coast was clear as soon as Jeonghan left his office. She’d been snooping on calendars and seen that he had the next two hours blocked off. He’d taken his laptop with him, so she was confident that she could snoop freely for the next bit. Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, she ducked into his office and started peering around. She didn’t honestly know what she was hoping to find. She doubted that Jeonghan kept a journal full of his secret feelings about you, but she would settle for something…anything!

“What’re you doing?” Peter appeared suddenly in the doorway.

“Nothing! Um…helping Jeonghan sort his paperwork,” she shuffled piles of papers haphazardly together on his desk.

“You never help with administrative tasks,” Peter narrowed his eyes at her. “What’s really going on?”

“I…, uh,” she floundered for a moment before giving up the charade completely, “I’m snooping. I think something’s going on between Jeonghan and YN.”

“Oh!” Peter’s eyebrows raised with surprise, “Like…in a good way or a bad way?”

“Like…I think they liked each other. And maybe still like each other.”

“Love!” Peter gasped, clapping his hands together. “Let me help. What are you looking for?”

Maja rolled her eyes. She should’ve known this would be Peter’s response.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing here. It’s not like it’s the Victorian era and they keep secret correspondence or something,” she shook her head, ready to give up.

“Ow, shoot!” Peter whisper-shouted as his shoulder brushed against Jeonghan’s diploma, knocking it off the wall. The loud crash that accompanied it made Maja want to melt into the floor.

“How did it not break?” she marveled with wonder before realizing it was plexiglass. She flipped it over to put the diploma back in place and was surprised when multiple sheets of paper emerged. “What in the world…,” she murmured. Peter had made himself scarce after the ruckus, so she was able to read in peace.

“I, the undersigned, consent to…,” she read the text and realized that this was the contract. It was a fairly short document and while no judge in their right mind would enforce this, it was technically binding. She set it aside before fixing Jeonghan’s diploma and hanging it back on the wall. Maja thought briefly about what to do with the contract, but ultimately settled on leaving it on Jeonghan’s desk. She’d thoroughly undone whatever organization system he used to separate his papers, so she could at least make this easy for him.

…

Jeonghan let out another long exhale. He’d blocked off a few hours in the law library so he could work without being distracted by the view of you through the window. He’d also spent his Sunday thinking of you. He’d have no way of knowing it, but he was far less conflicted than you were. He liked you, was attracted to you, and would be happy to date you. After all this time, both apart and together, he just…enjoyed you. Whether you were making his blood boil while butting heads or making his heart flip flop as his fake fiancee, he liked you.

He knew he likely had some work to do in order to show himself to you in that light, but he was willing. You already spent an atypical amount of time with him, so really there were more than enough opportunities. He typed up a few more sentences before someone burst into the office unceremoniously.

You’d jumped when your phone had started ringing in your hands. Flynn was calling weeks after your break up, so you’d panicked and ducked into the law library.

“Hello?” Jeonghan’s eyes widened when it was your voice that answered. Your phone wasn’t on speaker, but the volume was high enough that he could also hear the person on the line.

“Hello? YN?”

“Flynn, is everything okay?” you asked.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s okay, thanks for asking,” he chuckled and you smiled reflexively. It was easy to relax into his laugh.

“Um, so why are you calling?” you asked, slightly awkward.

“Right to business as usual,” Flynn laughed again.

Jeonghan’s pulse raced. You were still facing the door, so he felt like he was eavesdropping, but it also didn’t seem right to speak up, so he just sat in this one-sidedly tense situation, frozen.

“Listen, I’m calling, um. Because I’ve been thinking…I just miss you. Uh, I know I struggled with your lack of work life balance, but…I’ve been wondering if we should give it another try?”

Your eyebrows shot up with surprise at the same time Jeonghan’s furrowed. You’d been thinking maybe he’d left something at your apartment and wanted to pick it up. You exhaled sharply and turned, pressing your back to the door.

“Flynn, I-,” your eyes met Jeonghan’s. You hadn’t realized he was there.

His eyes pinned you against the door and the words caught in your throat. Heat crept up your neck and the room suddenly felt foggy. You tried to form words that wouldn’t come.

Jeonghan tried to keep from frowning. Your ex wanted to reconcile, which made him want to throw your phone out of the window, but he refrained from showing this. He tried not to react in any way because he needed to understand more of where you stood and what you wanted. His wants regardless.

You blinked at Jeonghan, eyes searching his irritatingly placid face. You were surprised when you realized you were looking for some sort of indication or tell from him. In the past he’d been quite clear that he didn't care for Flynn. Why did it frustrate you that he wasn’t showing that to you again? Now?

“YN?” Flynn’s tinny voice shook you both out of your reverie. Jeonghan held your gaze, nodding as if reminding you that you needed to answer.

“I-,” you closed your eyes for a moment to filter through your thoughts and decide what you wanted. “Flynn, it’s so kind of you to call. I…don’t think we should give it another try. I actually feel really good about our split,” you answered honestly, eyes opening again.

“Ah,” Flynn was clearly surprised. “Well, thank you for being honest. I, uh, wish you the best!”

“Thank you,” you said as you met Jeonghan’s eyes again. Your heart pounded wildly as you ended the call and excused yourself from the library.

Jeonghan’s hand rose to his mouth to cover a wide smile of relief. He spent the next minutes trying and failing to focus and smiling into his palm. After accepting that he wasn’t going to get any more work done, he returned to his office. He cocked his head when he noticed the papers on his desk. This was definitely not how he had left them, but he found he didn’t really care.

The only document of note was the one he’d set his laptop on top of. Furrowing his brow as he pulled it out, his eyes scanned through it until he realized what it was: The ContractTM. Where had this come from?

With revived focus and interest, he reread the pages in their entirety. He found himself chuckling at his past self as he did so. Maybe it was just that hindsight is twenty-twenty, but Jeonghan found himself truly marveling at the document. While on its surface it was just an oddly written contract, it could also be read as a love letter to you from an emotionally constipated idiot. All this time, you’d been someone very special to him and it had taken him all this time to realize it.

…

“Mandatory happy hour,” you read the calendar invite you’d just received from Peter. You looked to Maja, who shrugged in response.

“Guess I’m busy tonight,” you gave your computer a lackluster thumbs up. Your pulse sped up slightly as you watched Jeonghan walk into his office.

You were feeling some awkwardness after he’d witnessed Flynn’s attempt to reconcile. It was your fault for barging into the library, but you wished he’d said something, cleared his throat, anything to let you know that he’d been in there! You felt vulnerable to Jeonghan in a way that made you feel shy around him now. You hated it.

After a moment or two more of consideration, you shook your head. It would be fine. It was fine!

Jeonghan ran his tongue across his teeth as he read the calendar invite from Peter. While a mandatory, company-wide hang hadn’t been his ideal next step, he supposed it was still an opportunity to spend time with you. He had been thinking, overthinking really, ways he could spend time with you that were less casual than the current post-activity meals that you often shared. Your relationship revolved heavily around work, so at some point he wanted to move away from that, but he also wanted some reassurance that you were even interested.

…

“Are you walking over now?” Jeonghan called from his office when he saw you and Maja conferring.

“Yes! Would you like to join us?” Maja invited him.

“Please,” he nodded, logging out of his laptop quickly. It was just a few minutes more before he was ready to go.

“Alright, mandatory fun!” Maja pumped a reluctant fist before leading you towards the elevator.

“Mandatory fun,” you chuckled weakly as you followed her.

“Ready for mandatory fun?” Jeonghan nudged you with his elbow as he settled in next to you.

“So ready,” you laughed.

You actually weren’t dreading it that much. Peter’s unseriousness as a boss meant that after-hours work events were often quite fun. It would be interesting to see Harris in a social situation, but you genuinely liked a lot of the associates, so honestly it would be a good time. As long as you could keep a reasonable distance between yourself and Jeonghan, you could be okay.

Jeonghan’s brow furrowed. You were being unusually quiet.

“How was your day? How’s the wrongful termination suit going?”

“Oh, um, good,” you nodded. Why was this elevator so slow?

Maja furrowed her brow. Jeonghan was trying and you were giving him absolutely nothing.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to visit the employer again? There was a coworker that could be a key witness if you could get into contact with them!”

“I-,” you glared at Maja.

“Oh, do you want to go back? I’ll go with you,” Jeonghan offered.

“For your client,” Maja implored, but you could see the mischief playing across her lips.

“Maybe, it might not be necessary,” you shrugged.

“Okay, just text me if it is. I’ll make myself available,” Jeonghan nodded.

Maja was suffering in silence. She wondered if she could have the elevator to herself for a moment while you two walked to the bar.

“YN! Jeonghan!” Peter greeted the two of you enthusiastically when you walked in.

“What about me?” Maja glared playfully at Peter.

“Maja, my favorite girl!” he folded her into a hug that she immediately pulled away from.

Harris appeared behind Peter and you tried to hide a smile. This casual check-in with Maja was obvious to you, but you knew no one else was aware of the relationship yet.

“Hi Harris,” you smiled at the other managing partner before slipping away towards the bar. Maja followed.

“You’re acting weird,” she declared, leveling you with a stare. “What gives?”

“What?”

“You are being so short with Jeonghan. Did he upset you or something?”

“I mean not specifically, but in general he is upsetting to me.”

Maja narrowed her eyes at you. You were so full of shit! Yet you had given her space about Harris when she’d needed it and so she supposed he could at least try and reciprocate.

“YN!” your junior associate, Kevin, appeared suddenly at your side. He placed his chin on your shoulder, which was silly because he was a full two heads taller than you. Kevin was like a big puppy and he looked up to you like an older sibling.

“What’s up?” you couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

“The advice that you gave me on that fraud case totally worked!” He stood up excitedly. “As always, you are the greatest!”

You grinned up at him. Kevin was straightforward and genuine in a way that you liked. You could trust the things he said without wondering about ulterior motives.

Jeonghan’s brow furrowed as he watched you and the world’s tallest Kevin at the bar. You two seemed wildly incompatible, yet you clearly enjoyed Kevin’s company and that surprised Jeonghan. He wondered whether that was what you looked for in a partner. Someone goofy and easy?

“You are thinking very hard,” Joshua appeared suddenly, teasing him in a sing-songy voice.

“I am not,” Jeonghan found himself denying immediately.

“Lies,” Joshua’s eyebrows raised before his head snapped in the direction Jeonghan had been looking earlier. The most devious smile curled onto his lips when he saw you. Jeonghan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Explain.” his evil twin demanded.

“There’s nothing to explain,” Jeonghan insisted. He wasn’t willing to share this with anyone yet, not even Joshua. He had just barely admitted it to himself.

“Well, I haven’t gotten to know YN at all since the merger, so now’s the perfect time,” Joshua managed to sound sweet and menacing at the same time.

“Wait,” Jeonghan called weakly. Was he ready to give this up?

Joshua turned back and looked down at him expectantly. Jeonghan glared at him for a moment before looking away and Joshua finished his beeline towards you. For all his soft smiles and sweet demeanor, he was such a little shit when he wanted to be.

“Oh, Joshua!” you were surprised when the attorney joined you at the bar. Aside from his commitment to work life balance, and also due to it, you didn’t know Joshua very well.

“You all looked like you were having too much fun for me not to join,” he smiled at you. Kevin gave him a jovial fistbump and he was folded into the group seamlessly.

You tried to ignore Jeonghan’s eyes on you, but you could feel them. You’d noticed Joshua teasing Jeonghan about something, but even before he had made his way to you, you’d felt Jeonghan’s gaze on you. You couldn’t seem to help the way it made your pulse stutter every so often. You wished it would stop.

“Joshua, you and Jeonghan are close, right?” Maja asked.

“As close as one can be with a workaholic,” he teased.

“Did you know that he and YN went to school together?”

“No, I didn’t,” Joshua shook his head. He looked at you with new appreciation. “Was he as big of a pain in law school as he is now?”

You shifted your gaze to Jeonghan and considered him. A smile lit up your face before you answered yes.

Jeonghan stood up. That was enough of standing on the sidelines.

“Talking about me?” he asked as he slipped behind you to order another drink.

“Only bad things, I promise.”

“Well, even if your attention is elsewhere, I’m glad I’m still on your mind,” he murmured for only you to hear.

You blinked, trying to keep a sheepish grin from spreading across your face. The edge of jealousy you heard was giving you major butterflies.

“YN?” you heard your name, snapping you back to reality.

“I’m so sorry, I did not hear you,” you shrugged sheepishly. Jeonghan looked down to hide a self satisfied grin.

“We were thinking of sitting outside on the patio,” Kevin repeated himself, jerking a thumb towards the door.

“Oh sure! It’s nice out,” you nodded, moving away from Jeonghan in an act of reflexive self preservation. It would be great not to be on edge all night if you could manage.

The outdoor seating was mostly picnic bench-style, so your group split in half to slot yourselves into them. You stayed close to Maja throughout the shuffle, which resulted in being sandwiched between her and Jeonghan. Wonderful.

You didn’t really absorb another word that was said the rest of the night. Every time you tuned in, the conversation had drastically changed from the last time you’d been listening. Eventually you gave up. Instead, your mind zeroed in on every shift and movement that Jeonghan made. A few minutes after sitting down, he turned to face the group more directly and his legs straddled the seat of the bench. What this meant for you was that his legs were now more or less draped around you, boxing you in. 

Maja struggled to hide her giddy grin as she watched you from the corner of her eye. Whether he was aware of it or not, Jeonghan was definitely staking a claim. Most of the firm knew that you two spent a lot of time together, both professional and extracurricular, but these subtle physical proximities reinforced and cemented the closeness you shared.

“Oh? Jeonghan, is that you?” a new voice pierced the air.

“Ah?” his legs brushed against you as he turned to identify where the voice had come from. “Ah, Soonyoung?!”

“Jeonghan, it is you!” a young, vivacious man called more excitedly this time. Jeonghan stood to embrace him. “Just my luck running into you!”

“Oh, why’s that?” Jeonghan slung an arm around his shoulder, moving to catch up with him.

You exhaled a small sigh of relief as Jeonghan left to chat with his friend across the bar. You brought your chin to rest on your upturned palm as you watched them. A soft smile settled on your lips. Jeonghan’s expression was so dynamic as his friend talked. He was a much better listener than he’d been in college.

“YN,” Joshua’s voice pulled your attention away. “How is your wrongful term case going?”

“Oh! Mostly good, though I am a little worried about the jury selection. You never know what you’re going to get, right?”

“That’s true,” he laughed. “Is Jeonghan still assisting on that case?”

“Well, no. He was never formally assisting. I just needed a fake fiance for a day, so he got roped in, I suppose.”

“He volunteered!” Maja piped in unhelpfully.

“Oh, did he?” Joshua’s eyes widened with surprise. “That’s odd!”

“Is it?” your brows raised, “He loves butting into cases that aren’t his!” you laughed good naturedly.

“Hm, not the Jeonghan that I’ve come to know,” Joshua shook his head with a bemused smile. “He’s different with you though, I’ve noticed.”

You looked towards Jeonghan again. He was staring at you with an expression on his face that indicated he needed extricating from his situation. You blinked slowly before turning back to Joshua.

“I think he needs help,” you laughed. You and Joshua chatted about made up topics for a few minutes longer before you got up to retrieve him. You were delighted to learn that reveling in Jeonghan’s misery was an interest of Joshua’s as well.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” you cleared your throat as you approached the pair. “Can I steal him back from  you…soonish?”

“Oh please! We’ve discussed what I needed to discuss. Now I’m just blabbing his ear off. I’m Hoshi, by the way. You are?” Jeonghan’s friend stood up to shake your hand.

“YN,” you smiled, “How do you two know each other?” you couldn’t resist asking. You knew you were meant to be extricating Jeonghan from the conversation, but the opportunity to learn about this person from Jeonghan’s life was simply too tempting to resist.

Hoshi launched into a long and animated story of how he and Jeonghan met on the playground at Maseok Elementary school. Hoshi was an excellent storyteller and regaled you with no shortage of entertaining stories about Jeonghan. One that particularly made you giggle was the story of Jeonghan, upset over something and trying to make a show of it, losing his balance and rolling down the stairs instead.

Jeonghan covered his face with a hand. He should’ve known that Hoshi would happily volunteer all of his most embarrassing tales. He almost stopped Hoshi from telling the snake story until he saw the smile that had lit up your face.

“Friggin’ idiot,” you laughed, covering your mouth with your hands to hide a smile of utter delight behind it.

The words were insulting, but you said them with a warmth and affection that spread through Jeonghan’s chest like fire. Damn, he really did like you didn’t he?

“Hey are you ever coming back?” Maja shouted from across the bar.

You and Jeonghan looked at each other before smiling at Hoshi sheepishly. Jeonghan ensured that he would be in touch with Hoshi soon before you returned to the remainder of the firm that was still out.

“How was your little sidebar?” Peter asked.

“That was an old friend who happens to be in need of a lawyer, so we may have a new client,” Jeonghan shrugged casually.

“Oh I could kiss you on the mouth!” Peter clapped him on the back excitedly. At your bemused glare, he added, “With your consent, of course.”

Jeonghan let out a puff of laughter. Peter had ceased to surprise him long ago.

“Okay, I’m tired, I’m ready to go home,” Maja announced after a rather spectacular yawn.

Harris stood and the rest of the associates followed.

“Hey, you’re not taking the bus home, okay?” Maja pointed a finger at you as you closed your tab. “Jeonghan, will you drive her?”

Jeonghan nodded, silently thanking Maja for her observant and protective nature.

“No, I-,” your protest died in your throat when you saw her withering stare. It was late anyways, you wouldn’t mind the ride, to be honest. “I can ask someone else, if it’s out of the way for you,” you turned to Jeonghan.

“It’s on the way,” he shook his head. He had no idea whether this was true or not, but he wasn’t going to give up this opportunity.

“Okay,” you nodded.

You felt inordinately nervous as you followed him to his car. Jeonghan had driven you places plenty of times before, but it felt a little different this late after-hours. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as he drove.

“Did you enjoy your mandatory fun?” you finally asked, unable to take the silence anymore.

“Huh?” Jeonghan was startled from his thoughts.

He’d been deeply ruminating over if, whether, and then how he was going to walk you to the door and ask you out. He wanted to wait until the Mock Trial season was over so you wouldn’t consider it another meal of convenience.

“Jeonghan?” you were confused when he didn’t answer.

“Sorry, yes, it was fun. Added bonus of running into Hoshi,” he shook his head slightly.

“I enjoyed running into him too,” you grinned cheekily at him.

“It seemed so,” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow at you, but it was good natured.

“Thanks for the ride,” you smiled at Jeonghan as he pulled into the parking area at your place.

“I’ll walk you up,” he decided as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“You don’t have to do that,” you cocked your head at him.

“I know,” he half-smiled at you and continued anyway.

You tamped down a prickle of nerves as he followed you to the building entrance. You turned to face him because you felt like you needed to say something before going inside.

“Thank you for the ride,” you waved awkwardly at him, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Jeonghan nodded, feeling stuck as you turned to enter the building. At the last moment, he grabbed a hanging tie on your bag and jerked you back towards him. Now or never.

“Hey, uh…question,” he cleared his throat when you turned confused eyes towards him. “When Mock Trial season is over…would you want to go to dinner with me?”

“Oh?” your eyes widened. That prickly tingle was back again.

Jeonghan watched you think. It was like the day he’d watched you talk to your ex over the phone. It felt similarly nerve wracking waiting for you to render a decision.

“Yes, I would like that,” you finally nodded, offering him a small smile.

“Great,” he broke out into a smile and you both exhaled small breaths of relief. “How about the Friday after their final trial?”

“That works for me,” you nodded. You didn’t need to check your calendar, you never had plans.

“Okay, let’s plan for 7. I’ll work out the other details,” he nodded before releasing his hold on your bag. You exhaled loudly after you were safely inside. Was this a date?

…

Jeonghan’s brow furrowed as he stared at the casefile on his desk. He should be ecstatic. Harris and Peter had just assigned him a major Merger & Acquisition project. This was a huge step in building his corporate law portfolio, yet he couldn’t help but feel annoyed as it required him to be onsite. Your dinner date was just two weeks out and he really had no way of knowing how long he’d be required to be out of town.

“Hey, I heard you got an interesting case! What is it?” you popped your head into Jeonghan’s office. You were itching to know.

“Merger and Acquisition,” he responded blandly.

Your nose wrinkled. You had never been one for corporate law, so this was a rare case where you had no interest whatsoever. It was, however, surprising that Jeonghan wasn’t more visibly excited.

“Why do you look so un-psyched? You like this shit,” you furrowed your brows at him.

“I am, but I have to be on site for it…in Minneapolis.”

“Ah,” you nodded. You had to travel for work every so often and it was never as fun as you’d think. Staying in a hotel with an unfamiliar bed and weird pillows was just mildly annoying enough to drive you crazy. “Minneapolis is fun though!”

“There are things here I’d rather be doing,” an eyebrow jerked up with slight irritation. He hoped you would catch his drift.

“It’ll all be here when you get back,” you were trying to be encouraging.

Jeonghan tried to be reassured, but the unreasonable fear that you would change your mind about wanting to go out to dinner with him while he was gone lingered. He wondered if he could take that Friday off and fly back for the weekend.

…

You sighed as you walked back to your car. Jeonghan was out of town, which meant you were now advising both teams. You adored all of the students, but their instincts to try and weasel out information about the opposition’s strategy was making you a little crazy. You missed being a two-person team.

Your stomach grumbled as you entered a restaurant. This was your favorite place for solo dining. On top of the food being good, they had single person booths equipped with phone charging outlets where you could eat in peace. As you sat down, you realized just how long it had been since you’d stopped in. These days, more often than not, you had Jeonghan to eat with.

“Ah, YN! Where the hell have you been?” the hostess, Evan yelled excitedly when you walked in. “You finally find someone who will date you and your crazy hours?”

“Why would you think that when I’m back here to eat by myself?” you threw your hands up playfully in response. Your mind wandered to Jeonghan, but you brought it back quickly. 

“I guess so, you lonely spinster,” Evan chuckled affectionately as he led you to a booth. “You know the deal, so let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do,” you nodded as you took a seat. You submitted your order through the tablet and scrolled through your phone as you waited.

Your mind inevitably wandered to Jeonghan. You wondered whether he’d gotten into Minneapolis without much hassle and how the merger seemed so far. You even went so far as to draft a text message to him, but did not actually send it. He could contact you if he wanted to. You returned to the article you’d been reading, but it wasn’t much longer before your phone rang, alerting you of an incoming video call from ‘Yoon Jeonghan’. How was that for timing?

“Hello?” you answered while fishing in your bag for headphones.

“Hey, it’s Jeonghan,” you laughed. You knew that already. “Is practice over?”

“Yes,” you replied, waiting for a moment for the audio to switch over. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he replied, turning his camera on. “I was just thinking of you so I thought I’d call to see how it went. Thank you for pulling double duty, by the way. I wish I could’ve been there.”

“Me too,” you chuckled, propping your phone up so you could see him. “You should’ve seen the way Farah’s eyes bugged out when I told them where you were. Yet another weirdo who likes corporate law,” you teased. Farah was wonderful, but you just truly did not understand the draw.

Jeonghan laughed before reaching offscreen to grab a pair of chopsticks. You watched as he pulled them apart and jabbed them into something in a bowl.

“Oh are you eating? Me too,” you remarked, showing him a spoon that was handy.

“Yes. It’s been a long day, I’m starving,” he nodded before shoveling noodles into his mouth.

“How has the merger been, by the way?” you 

“Fairly aggressive so far,” Jeonghan shook his head. Once his immediate hunger was sated, he shared more details about his day. The timing was just as well because Evan brought you food and you could listen and eat.

Jeonghan smiled as he watched you eat dumplings rather expeditiously. While his day had been busy and consumed with the merger, he hadn’t been able to keep his mind from wandering to you. He’d finalized his plans to fly home on Friday in time for your date, which filled him with a nervous excitement. He planned to surprise you, so he didn’t share for now.

“How is Hoshi’s case?” he asked before bringing his water to his lips.

Your eyes lingered on his hand for a moment too long before you answered. Hoshi was quite the character. You weren’t exactly sure he had a solid case against his business partner, but you were still in the fact finding stage of things.

Jeonghan nodded while his server brought him the bill and informed him that he should pay at the hostess stand. As he stood, he let you know that he would be back soon and instructed you to wait for him. He knew you likely wouldn’t, but he was curious how long you might hold for. He laughed when he returned to a stern text from you asking not to waste your time. You’d waited all of two minutes before ending the call.

…

Jeonghan squeezed his eyes shut. The attorney for the opposite side of the merger was driving him insane with his idiocy and dramatic flair. His eyes flitted to his phone, he wondered if you were free.

[yjh]: ‘my opposing counsel is a moron’

You laughed.

[yn]: ‘i wonder if he attended Thee Law School That Shall Not Be Named’

[yjh]: ‘i’m not even sure he’d be admitted there’

You snorted. While you knew it was unreasonable, dunking on your law school’s longest standing rival still tickled a special spot of joy in your heart.

[yn]: ‘otherwise, how’s it going?’

Jeonghan glanced up surreptitiously before responding. Things were going smoother than the first days. Leadership of the acquiree had come to terms with the transaction. At this point, the opposing counsel was more of an obstacle than anyone else.

You raised your eyebrows as you read his response. You wondered if this attorney was struggling to change mindset and was still taking an oppositional approach.

[yn]: ‘may want to reinforce that his clients have accepted the acquisition and continue to redirect/reroute to them as appropriate’

[yjh]: ‘would rather just strangle him’

[yn]: ‘i will not represent you when it inevitably goes to trial’

[yjh]: ‘but you’re the best 🥺👉👈’

[yn]: ‘i’m aware :)’

Jeonghan snorted before tucking his phone back in his pocket. Incompetent Opposition LawyerTM had returned so it was back to business.

…

[yn]: ‘you should go to the MIA!’

[yjh]: ‘what is that?”

[yn]: ‘Minneapolis Institute of Art.’

[yn]: ‘this weekend is their annual Art in Bloom event!’

[yn]: ‘your timing is perfect!’

Jeonghan was pleasantly surprised as you proceeded to blow up his phone, explaining that the Art in Bloom was an annual event where floral artists were invited to create arrangements that were inspired by or complements to art pieces that were housed at the MIA. Apparently it was a free annual event that you were very excited about.

[yjh]: ‘it’s too bad you’re not here with me.’

‘Here with me’ stuck out to you more than you cared to admit.

[yn]: ‘send me pictures if you go! plz & ty’

Part of you did wish that you were in Minneapolis with Jeonghan. As much as your friends disagreed that it was a cool city, you enjoyed it. It had so many things that you enjoyed.

[maja-stic]: ‘are you ready? i’m leaving now, be there in 15’

[yn]: ‘yes! see you soon :)’

You flipped back to Jeonghan’s messages and were delighted to see he had decided to take your advice and promised to send you pictures. You nodded happily and finished packing your bag. You and Maja had a date at the mall. You were in the market for new trousers and she was shopping for home decor items.

[maja-stic]: ‘here’

“Hello hello! I missed you,” she greeted you with a smile as you climbed into her car. Being with Harris really looked good on her, she seemed so happy these days.

“I missed you too. Freaking Harris monopolizing all of your time,” you feigned outrage.

“You’re always welcome to hang out with us,” she offered as she drove.

“I don’t think I want to third wheel my literal boss,” you chuckled.

“I-,” she glared at you, “He is also my literal boss.”

“Yes, and you chose to get involved in a sordid, workplace relationship. That’s not my fault!” you teased her and she reached over to pinch you.

“Ow! I’m gonna report you to HR!” you shouted.

You both broke out into a peal of giggles as she turned off on the exit to the mall. After completing your ritual of getting soft pretzels and bubble tea, the two of you began shopping in earnest. You alternated between clothing and home decor and as was typical, both ended up buying things you absolutely didn’t need. As time went on, Maja noticed that you were more and more wrapped up in your phone. At the beginning of the trip, you’d been invested in finding pants, but once you’d found two pairs to your liking, you’d been checking your phone like crazy. Sometimes there was nothing to respond to, but more often than not, a smile crept onto your lips and you tapped back a quick reply. Her eyebrows furrowed.

“Who do you keep texting?” she demanded, curiosity bubbling.

“Oh, my friend is at a museum and they’re sending me pictures!” you avoided answering the question directly.

“Oh? Let me see!” she poked her head over your shoulder. She had a burning gut feeling.

You flipped through the photos that Jeonghan had sent you. Maja cooed appropriately at the floral arrangements, but was disappointed that they didn’t give anything away. It had to be Jeonghan, right? You didn’t have any other friends!

“So is it a botanical garden? It seemed like flowers and also art?”

“No, it’s an art museum. They do an annual special exhibit of floral arrangements.”

“Ahh, cool,” Maja nodded before unlocking her phone to do some googling. It didn’t take much sleuthing to deduce that this was probably the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art in Bloom exhibit. The pieces of information puzzled themselves together in Maja’s brain and she gasped, giving you an accusatory stare.

“You lying son of a gun!”

“What?” you feigned ignorance, but you knew your goose was cooked.

“You’ve been texting Jeonghan all day! You-,” her outrage choked out the rest of her sentence. “Right?”

“No,” you denied reflexively.

“Give me your phone then,” she stood with a fist on her hip and the other hand outstretched. “If you are truly not texting Jeonghan all day on a Saturday then give me your phone.”

“I-,” you sighed, giving up the pretense, “Fine, you’re right. Sue me!”

“I will!” she replied. She was overwhelmed by a mix of indignance, vindication, and excitement that was showing up in an overly combative manner. “Sorry, I just…I am surprised! And processing.”

“We’re just talking,” you tried to play it down, but you knew it was more than that.

Over the past week, your communications with Jeonghan had grown more frequent than they’d even been with Flynn. You looked forward to his nightly calls and you’d accepted that you were feeling something for him that was more than a casual friendship. Something that made you feel nervous yet hopeful that he meant your next dinner as a date too.

“You are thinking way too hard about him for this to just be talking,” Maja shook her head firmly. “You don’t have to tell me, but…I don’t believe it’s just friendly texting.”

“It’s so embarrassing to say it out loud, but I think I like him,” you rolled your eyes at yourself. “Freaking Jeonghan.”

“Hehe,” Maja was grinning from ear to ear. “I love this. You two make sense together, like come on! I love love.”

“You sound like Peter,” you gave her a pointed look.

“In this case, I’m happy to,” she beamed at you proudly. “Do you guys have anything planned? Have you set like a date date?”

“We were supposed to get dinner next Friday, but since he’s still in Minneapolis, I’m assuming we’ll reschedule once that’s done?”

Maja nodded. That made sense. The rest of the shopping trip was filled with a peppering of questions about your newly realized feelings and fighting off Maja’s occasional offers to Facetime Jeonghan together. It was way too early for that.

…

The next time you spoke on the phone, you were the one who called Jeonghan, which made him want to kick his feet with delight and triumph. He was, however, on his way back to the hotel so that would have to wait.

“Hello?” he sandwiched the phone between his shoulder and ear as he entered his hotel room.

“Hey, do you have any experience with beverage labeling compliance?”

“What?” Jeonghan’s eyebrows furrowed. Not the greeting he expected.

“I’m at the grocery store,” you said, as if it explained anything. “I’m looking at this weird canned beverage that claims a million benefits that I find difficult to believe.”

“Hm, I wonder if it’s technically a supplement. Much more lax on that side.”

“Really?” you squawked. “Shouldn’t supplements be more tightly regulated?”

Jeonghan shook his head. This was yet another corporate law elective that you had elected to ignore.

“You’d think so, but no. FDA is dreadfully underfunded when it comes to inspection and enforcement. It’s almost a free for all unless you have significant market share.”

“Huh,” you narrowed your eyes at the can before moving down the aisle. “Well nay to that, then, I suppose. What are you up to?”

“Just got back to my room. Another long day, so I am ordering room service and not moving once I lay down.”

“Ah, I’ll let you go then.”

“No, don’t,” Jeonghan shook his head vehemently, “Stay on.”

“Do you need to at least call room service?”

“No,” Jeonghan shook his head as he toed off his shoes, “I can order online.”

“Ah,” you nodded.

You continued through the grocery aisles, plucking an assortment of items that you could throw together to make dinner. You were well aware of the differences in regulation between supplements and foods. The beverage’s nutritional claims had been a flimsy excuse to call him. It’d only been a few days since he’d left for the merger, but you felt it. The firm was quiet without him and you found yourself missing your thinking partner. Maja could only assist to a certain level before you needed someone else…well, needed Jeonghan.

“Gosh, I’m tired,” Jeonghan huffed and you heard what sounded like him flopping down into bed. There was a bit of soft rustling before he spoke again. “What should I eat?” he asked, putting you on speakerphone and pulling up the room service menu.

“I don’t know,” you rolled your eyes, “What do they have?”

Jeonghan was inordinately pleased that you were humoring him. In months past, you definitely would’ve hung up at this, admittedly, unreasonable question. He was very much reading into the fact that you hadn’t. He took his time reading the menu to you while you checked out with your groceries.

“I think…well, it’s humid today in Minneapolis, right? I don’t like heavy foods when the weather is sticky like that.”

“How do you know it’s humid?”

“I…,” you had looked it up earlier.

“Did you check?” Jeonghan’s eyes lit up. Had he been around other people, he would’ve had to cover his mouth to hide the beaming smile on his face.

“No,” you denied it too quickly.

“You were thinking about me,” he teased in a sing-songy voice followed by the sound of rustling sheets. You couldn’t see it, but he was kicking his feet like an absolute fool.

You had every plan to say something in your own defense, but you suddenly realized or remembered that he was laying in bed. This sent a jolt of heat up your neck. You really shouldn’t feel this way in a grocery store!

“Well what did you decide to eat?” you asked as you drove your car home. You smacked yourself on the forehead. This was an incredibly inane topic for you to be entertaining, but you didn’t want to end the call either.

“Oh, I haven’t yet,” Jeonghan focused his attention again. “I do think I’ll take your advice. Something light sounds nice.”

You had finished putting away groceries by the time he’d submitted his order. It had been a long day, so you went to lay down as well. You landed with a quiet thud and you shifted slightly to get comfortable.

“What are you going to eat?” Jeonghan asked.

“I bought groceries, but now I don’t feel like cooking them,” you laughed, “I think I have some hard boiled eggs in the fridge.”

“No. Stop,” he said sternly. “That is pathetically sad. You can’t just eat eggs for dinner.”

“I mean who’s gonna stop me?” you teased.

“YN.”

You stilled. Hearing Jeonghan say your name in an admonishing, scolding tone sent a shiver down your spine. Not unpleasant by any means, but surprising. You took a few shallow breaths, forgetting to reply.

“YN?” Jeonghan his voice sounded in your ear again and you shuddered.

“Yeah?” you replied, but it was breathy. Thin. You squeezed your eyes shut.

Jeonghan swallowed. The effect that he’d heard in your voice shot through him and surprised him. He wished he was home.

“I’m gonna order you food,” he decided, clearing his throat.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” you shook your head.

“I know,” he brushed off your protest and pulled up his phone. “Ah, Krazy Bao delivers,” he thought aloud as he submitted your order.

You blinked at his memory. It still surprised you when Jeonghan was attentive like this.

“What’s your address again?”

You contemplated withholding it from him, but he promptly reminded you that he could look it up in his Google Maps search history. Damn his brain.

“Okay, ETA is forty minutes,” he confirmed, satisfied with himself.

“Thank you,” you muttered, face half buried into a pillow.

“You’re welcome,” he laughed. “Tell me about the rest of your day.”

You thought for a moment, trying to decide what to tell. Honestly the days had been boring since Jeonghan was gone. The other associates’ offices were further away from your corner and so you’d mostly been working and chatting with Maja occasionally. She and Harris were now at a point where they spent most evenings together, so you felt more alone than normal. You didn’t share all of this with him, of course, but found more than enough topics to last through both of your dinners.

“It’s getting late,” you yawned.

“It is,” Jeonghan nodded, sleep was creeping up on him as well.

“I can’t wait for you to get back,” you muttered as you dozed off, “I miss you.”

Jeonghan’s eyes snapped wide open.

‘I miss you’

“What did you just say?” he asked in disbelief.

The only answer you had for him was light snoring, so he ended the call.

‘I miss you.’

He hadn’t realized he’d been wanting to hear those words until now. The brief shock of adrenaline subsided and he laid back down. The next two days couldn’t pass quickly enough for him.

…

You felt like a chicken with its head cut off. Things had been so overwhelmingly busy for the past weeks that you felt just one very minor inconvenience from exploding. Mock Trial had finally wound down, but now you were assisting with Hoshi who was quite the handful. You probably would have fired him as a client already, but this was technically Jeonghan’s case. But he was gone and Hoshi was…a lot.

Soonyoung, who preferred his ‘Doing Business As’ name of Hoshi, was embroiled in a fairly pointless lawsuit with his business partner, Seungkwan. The pair of them were equally hotheaded and emotional and some days it felt like they were engaged in the lawsuit just so they could fight with each other on record.

“What time is the mediation for Hoshi today?” you called out of your office door to Maja.

“Six-thirty,” she replied. 

“Gah!” you let out a squawk before returning to work. You needed to run over to campus to meet with your mock trial team one more time before heading to Seungkwan’s lawyer’s office for mediation. After this week was over, you could take a bit of a breather. You just had to make it until then.

As you drove to campus your mind wandered, as it usually did now, to Jeonghan. Tonight would’ve been your dinner (date?), but he was still in Minneapolis. You’d assumed it was canceled. You’d figure something out once he was back.

…

Jeonghan sighed with relief when he finally deboarded the plane. It had looked a little hairy for a moment, but he’d made it back on time. He had enough time to get home, shower, change, and meet you at the restaurant. If he didn’t hit traffic, he might even have time to pick up some flowers. Nothing showy, as that wasn’t your style, but you had so enjoyed those cabbage roses in the wedding venue garden when he’d gone undercover with you.

…

You silenced your phone before you walked into the conference room with Hoshi. You were meeting with Seungkwan and his lawyer today for another, hopefully final, mediation session.

“Are you ready?” you asked Hoshi with a hopeful smile.

“Yes! I will let you answer all of the questions even if Seungkwan goads me!” he answered you, a look of determination across his face. You hoped that would be true this time.

“I guess they really do let anyone in these days,” came Mr. Boo’s drawling voice and Hoshi looked ready to launch himself over the conference table.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. This was going to be a challenging mediation.

…

Jeonghan’s eyebrows were furrowed. You were late. It hadn’t worried him for the first few minutes, but it was now quarter past seven and you hadn’t responded to any of his texts.

“Hello sir,” a waiter dressed in all black came to check on him. It was a fancy restaurant, so the service was unfortunately attentive.

“Yes, I know. I don’t know where she is,” Jeonghan replied, clearly ticked. “Let me give her a call to see if something happened.”

“Of course,” the server ducked away to share the update with another server.

Jeonghan could feel his irritation rise with each ring of the line. He ran his tongue across his teeth with annoyance until it finally went to voicemail.

“Hello, you’ve reached YN-,” he cut off your voicemail with an irritated push of the red button.

“I guess she’s not coming,” his eyebrows flicked up with annoyance when the server came back to check in again.

“Ah, I see. Would the gentleman still like to dine with us today?”

“No, thank you. I’ll get the check and get this table cleared out for you.”

The server nodded and returned shortly with a bill. Jeonghan paid for his one cocktail and then headed out to his car. Before starting it, he tried calling you again. He tossed his phone into the passenger seat before heading home. As he got closer, the irritation subsided and was replaced by a sense of worry. Even if you were standing him up, he would’ve liked to know that you were okay.

…

“How could you possibly suggest that?” Hoshi and Seungkwan gasped in horror at both you and your opposing counsel.

You shook your head. You and your opposing counsel had just devised an ingenious way to split assets of the business quite equitably between the two partners. You’d thought they would be elated.

“What are you, King Solomon? We can’t cut our baby in half like that!”

“Absolutely not!”

“At this rate, I’m second guessing the entire lawsuit to begin with!”

“Me too!”

Your head spun. You weren’t even sure who was saying what at this point, only that your plan had backfired spectacularly. Seungkwan and Hoshi made eye contact for a few moments before launching themselves into each other’s arms for a rather spectacular hug.

“What is happening?” you whispered to Seungkwan’s lawyer.

“Lord if I know,” he wailed, looking ready to pull his own eyebrows out.

“Brothers!” Hoshi and Seungkwan pulled away triumphantly. “Cancel the lawsuit, we’ve reconciled!”

You were torn between stabbing the both of them and cry-laughing because it meant you could go home. You went with the latter. Seungkwan’s attorney had the good idea of documenting the decision signed by all parties and as soon as that was done, you were free to go.

When you pulled out your phone to check the time, your heart leapt into your throat. Three missed calls and several texts from Jeonghan. What was going on?!

Jeonghan pretended to consider not picking it up when you called, but ultimately couldn’t help himself. The curiosity had been eating at him for hours now.

“Hello?” he answered gruffly.

“Are you okay? I was in mediation with a client so I just saw your texts and calls. Are you okay?”

“Mediation? Why were you in mediation?” Jeonghan asked, his tone somewhat strained.

“Because you pawned Hoshi off on me,” you rolled your eyes.

“Did you forget what day it is?” Jeonghan inquired snippily.

“Friday?” you answered, slightly confused.

“We were supposed to have dinner!”

“But you’re still in Minneapolis?”

“Try again,” Jeonghan’s tongue clicked.

“...You’re home?” your eyes widened.

Jeonghan let out a small noise of confirmation and a mix of feelings washed over you.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? I assumed we were canceling!”

“Why would you assume that?! I didn’t tell you because I wanted to surprise you?”

“Well you were the one who saddled me with the world’s most insane client!”

“And you’re the one who stood me up on our first date!”

You stilled. You pushed your adrenaline aside and focused on what was important. Jeonghan had come back all the way from Minneapolis for your date. Which was in fact a date and not just wishful thinking on your part.

“It’s fine, we can just reschedule. Hopefully the merger will be over soon-”

“No!” you cut him off, opening your car door. “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up! It’s eight, we can still have dinner.”

“I-,” he chuckled. Within moments you were headed towards his place.

Jeonghan glanced at the clock as he waited. He couldn’t recall the last time he had been picked up for dinner and he had to laugh. His relationship to you was anything but traditional, so really it made sense for you to have accidentally stood him up and then come pick him up instead.

Despite that, he was excited to see you. The past weeks apart had cemented just how important you were to him. He missed hearing your thoughts, bouncing ideas off of you, and spending time with you. He thought about you for so long that the buzzer was what pulled him back to reality. He buzzed you up and wondered whether you’d be amenable to a simple night in.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” you burst in unceremoniously.

“I wanted to surprise you!” came his bemused reply.

“Well I wouldn’t have scheduled mediation if I’d known you were coming back,” you fixed him with a stubborn look.

“I know,” he de-escalated the situation completely, grabbing you by the wrists and pulling you towards himself. “Hello.”

“H-hello,” you swallowed, nervous at his touch.

“I missed you,” Jeonghan smiled softly down at you. “I’m not mad. I’m glad you came.”

“I-,” your adrenaline fueled nerves melted into relief and your heart stuttered in your chest. “I missed you too.” 

“Do you want to go out? Or do you want to stay in?” he asked, pushing a few stray hairs out of your face.

“I wouldn’t mind staying in, to be honest. I need to give you an earful about Hoshi,” you couldn’t help but tease.

“I’m sure you do,” he smiled at you. “Go sit down and I’ll grab you a drink.”

“Wait, before you do,” you caught him before he could step away completely. You tugged him in by the front of his shirt and pressed your lips to his. His arms folded around you and his lips curled into a smile. “I missed you beyond a reasonable doubt,” you smiled cheesily at him when you pulled away.

“My god,” Jeonghan rolled his eyes affectionately at you, “I like you so much.”

back to index

[livmadart]

So I was reading through the detective conan wiki and came across this screenshot

and instantly thought like what if instead of Conan trying to keep the detective boys out of trouble or his being the (unofficial) leader of them, what if instead Conan really was a bad guy/criminal and the detective boys were in charge of keeping him from committing crimes.

After being shrunk, Conan, somehow, gains an interest in crime. Instead of solving crime though, comitting crime, not murder (or not yet?) but more like small scale scams or thievery and what not. I'm no expert.

The detective boys latch onto Conan pretty early on, after his very first day in elementary school actually, and they also found the detective boys super early into the series (I think it's ep4), and at some point after that, I guess, Conan gains this fascination for committing crime. So he tries making plans for something or another, but his plans always get thwarted by either the detective boys or someone else, like in episode 5, when there's a bomb on the train and Conan wants to plant a bug, he tries to stick it in some gum and put it under the seat, but is caught by Ran and the detective boys. Except in this I guess it would be something more than just planting a bug. Look, there's a lot I haven't thought about, all this came to me like 10 minutes ago. You're welcome to flesh things out btw if you want and can think of anything.

And he still solves crimes and stuff. It tickles that part in his brain that likes puzzles and everything, so much that he'll drop plans for, like, a bank robbery in favor of figuring out whatever case he comes across on the way there. So I guess there would be two ways of preventing Conan from committing crimes, one would be to physically prevent him (not very safe, he bites, and he's slippery) or to find a crime that has already occured for him to solve.

And I don't think the police know, and if they do, they think it's a joke, but just imagine like the detective boys or Agasa frantically calling Takagi like "Quick! Give us an unsolved case!" as they're trying to get a proper grip on Conan XDDD Takagi thinks Conan is just really enthusiastic about becoming a police detective in the future. (Conan is the 20 year old with 10 years of job experience. Actually all the detective boys will, once they're adults, now that I think about it)

Hiiiii I am SO sorry this has been sitting for like. A month. Honestly I think canon Conan is already halfway there—he has a clear sense of morals and justice but almost no regard for laws. If it would solve a case or save a life, he has already shown himself willing to break and enter, and I’m pretty sure it’s not legal to kick a brick at someone’s face at 80 mph. To reference your ask more directly, if there were some key piece of evidence to nail the Black Org, Conan would absolutely plan and enact a bank robbery to get it. It’s details like this that remind me his character is strongly derived from the original ACD Sherlock Holmes.

That being said, I do love the idea of Conan going wildly Feral if there was ever too much time between cases. He just gets stir-crazy and will start to cause trouble on purpose, and the Detective Boys have taken it upon themselves to keep him in line (as best they can!). Thank you for your ask, and please, have a sketch!!

[quicksilverdaisyday]

Ya know i was about to do a whole bit on you about how your banner (the thing at the top of the blog is a banner right with the one person with an eyepatch? Im pretty sure thats a banner) i was gonna do a whole bit about how it reminded me of bobs burgers and if you liked burgers so much maybe you should marry them, but then youre literally out her putting that youre a big fan of bobs burgers on the damn description section like ok alright ive been beaten to my own punch, if this was a school function id be left with no choice but to become the spiker, im bringing in the hard liquor to get these irresponsible fucks drunker than a really drunk person i dont know whose the guy from mtv you know the guy, you probably dont actually i mean what are the odds like zero probably. Anyway bobs bazinga burger? Thoughts? I mean i hate burgers ok ive eaten more burgers than youve learned bug facts which if you dont know a lot of bug facts you should because bugs are cool and also terrifying and knowledge is power but long story short ive eaten more burgers than should be legal, like if you ever watch the movie supersize me i did that for two years straight except usually id only eat once a day because i was too poor to eat real food, this is the deep shoe fuck lore ok you might think im going at this from the pity party direction here but i assure you i am not i am merely validating my street cred when it comes to burgers ok i know burgers inside outside and possibly even inside-out. Anyway listen right he makes the bazinga burger, spicy pickles, mustard, smash burger, special ingredient? A healthy topping of pickled red onions and cabbage. Bam. Thats good eatin. If youre a believer in bobs bazinga burger gimme a bazinga back ya know its free youre not misleading nobody, nothing bad is gonna happen thats a shoe fuck guarantee, cmon you gotta say bazinga i dropped the hot and heavy lore on ya the loyal fans they gotta be appeased this is like a weekly thing now ok im like one of those guys the weekly comedy segment guys i get on i do my lines the crowd laughs we probably have a very charismatic instrumentalist who rarely speaks and when he does its about the trombone and everyone is like ah im so fascinated about the history of trombone. Ive got a good friend like that love that man holy shit though i dont care about the trombone but i just love him so much that im gonna listen with a smile anyway. Maybe you got a trombone enthusiast in your life i dont know but if you do ya know listen to them cause ya learn a lotta life lessons from trombone players. Probably cello players too. I mean chances are that theyre multi talented, people who are good at music stuff normally are, ya know its a passion thing, like youre out here doing art i bet youre real passionate about the art i bet you got lots of multi disciplinary shit going on behind the scenes like a regular pablo picasso or something ya know clay sculptures, get yourself a kiln man, id love to do pottery, make some pots, mugs, bowls, lil rabbits and the fucking special moments porcelain figures that everyones grandma owns, like do they just like them are they the pokemon of old people? Or are those beanie babies? My grandma does bells, weirdest shit ive ever seen woman just loves her bells i love you grandma but you dont even ring them ya know, theyre just little bells she doesnt want you to ring them. I dont know man. Anyway right, bazinga burger, from bob, bobs bazinga burger you know that shit would sell like hot cakes give it a consider in your mind space mull it over, hit me with a bazinga you wont regret it or your money back, its free though also. Just for the record.

i’m not reading all that. good for you tho. or sorry that happened

[i-am-hoo-iyam]

I really miss @mega-puanni and wish I could tell them I know I fucked up in a gif of frustration and I am very sorry and I feel really bad. But for now all I can do is write more funny skeleton stories about sea shanty singing skeletal systems.

One fine summer night when the moon was lighting up the sky and the air was still warm and somehow there were a few bugs buzzing in the ship even though it was in the middle of the sea, stretch asked everyone at dinner if they wanted to have a little fun on deck and sing and dance and drink and be merry. Everyone thought it was a great idea.

Bear brought some snacks up on deck and blue put some strings of lanterns up at waist height. “Hey shorty! Gimmie those lights!” Cash took the lights and hung them way high so they lit up the deck. “But if I’m too short to hang lights what can I do?” “Bring some deck chairs out?” “Ok!” Blue came back with five deck chairs held over his head and red lounging on one of them. “Hey he asked me to lay here! He says it’s good exercise”. “Thanks Ted! You can get down now!” Sans gave blue a funny look. “Why don’t you stick to cannons ok?” “Why?” “Cuz you looked like you were about to send him into the sea with how much you swung around!” “Oh.”

Stretch went to the front of the deck. “Ok anyone have any song suggestions?” Navy got exited. “ICEES MERRY SEA SHANTY FOR A MERRY GOOD TIME!” Blue looked at navy. “Ok I know I can be childish sometimes but that’s where I draw the line. Iced is for lil kids who fry and poopy in their diapers and eat lollipops.” “Yeah but you read fluffy bunny!” “WHAT NO I DONT WHO TOLD YOU THAT?” “Yourself. There isn’t a spare room and I’m scared of the dark so I share a room with you. And you read fluffy bunny every night”. “Nooooooooooo it’s uh uh it’s uh uh fiiiiiiiiine BUT IM NOT A BABY”. Red snickered. “Baby”. “NO IM NOT HES THE BABY!” Blue pointed to navy. “I won’t deny it”. Baby shrugged.

“Ok any serious suggestions?” Red thought. “Drunken sailor?” “Ok thsts a nice song!” Stretch started singing. “What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor”. Ht crew danced and enjoyed the music. Cinimon got enthusiastic with papyrus and they started really dancing and twirling around. Papyrus flung cinimon overboard and kept dancing unaware. Bear blew the signal for man over board on the alarm horn and dove in to get him. He came back a minute later and nobody had drowned. “Ok guys what’s the big deal?” Red looked at the crew. Papyrus looked sorry. “I-I-I I diddnt mean to… we were just having some fun dancing around and three i twirled him and then he was overboard”. Cinimon didn’t look that bothered. “It’s ok! Stretch has a lovely voice! Let’s just dance in the middle of the deck ok?”

Stretch started up on the song again. He sang with passion. He finally turned back into the real world when the ship suddenly spun 180 as fast as razz could steer it. “Guys?” Wveryone was on one end watching a seagul who had flown off with sans hat. The one papyrus had given him with the bandana thet meant a lot to him. Sans was in tears and reaching out futilely. Cinimon ten below deck and came back with the net gun. He fired and the net came down on the bird, who fell struggling. The crew reeled the net in and got the hat back. Sans shoved it on his head and went to his room. Blue carefully took the bird out of the net and smoothed it’s feathers and then let it fly away. The bird decided never to steal from that ship again.

Stretch went to check on sans. “Hey buddy. Are you ok? That was a bad scare”. “NO MY HAT ALMOST WENT AWAY FOREVER!” “We would’ve gotten it back without the net though. Remember that one time your hat got carried to kingdom come by the wind? You refused to leave your room and then a month later we found it in that thrift store where the guy said he was cleaning up the beach and found a hat and decided not to throw it away! And that other time it got eaten by the whale and then another ship gone out whaling found it inside the whales mouth! It’s like the hat is connected to your soul”.

“Snf your right heh. I’ve never lost it once. It always comes back. It means so much to me cuz papyrus said if anything ever happened to him I would still have the hat to remember him by. Cuz he said it’s easy to loose a man to the sea and he didn’t want me to be all alone without him.” “You ready to go back for another round of singing? I was gonna sing tthe Wellerman next!” “Ok! Tonight seems like it was made for partying!”

[hyunjilicious]

body shots [bucky barnes]

A/n: I word vomited this in 20 minutes and I fucking need this in my life. This is literally just a college AU with minimal plot + shy!innocent!bucky with a twist

Summary: you’re the popular girl and Bucky is the nerd no one talks to. What happens when you finally confess you have a crush on him? 2.1k

Warnings: ok, I always try to not describe the reader at all, but in order for the things in this fic to be able to happen, the reader has to have boobs that aren’t... you know... non-existent like mine lol. Language, alcohol and I think that’s it?

-

“Come on” you giggled, your tormenting gaze consuming the whole of Bucky’s being. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, eyes awkwardly avoiding yours, in a pathetic attempt to get himself out of his situation. You followed his gaze, looking over the sea of people, but nothing caught your eye. You turned to him, frustration curling your brows, “Please, Bucky”

“No” he whined, throwing his head to the side as the softest of smiles danced at the corner of his lips. Deep down, judging by his pink cheeks and glossy eyes, you knew he wanted to let loose. It was probably the surroundings that inhibited him, that kept him tied to the corner of the room, one red cup of beer in his hand. “I’m not-” he cringed, gesturing towards the tens of already inebriated young adults around the two of you, “I can’t. I’m not one of you guys”

“You can be” you giggled seductively, grabbing his hand into yours. He stiffened against your touch but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he watched you closely, his perfectly innocent blue eyes curiously watching yours, looking for confirmation. Were you really hitting on him? He was oblivious to the moon and back, but even so, your intentions were a bit too obvious.

He contemplated it for a second. You raised your eyebrows, sending him a wordless question and he actually thought about it for a minute, his mouth popping open before he regained himself. Bucky shook his head, chuckling with embarrassment, “Are you making fun of me?”

Your heart broke. “No” you squeezed his hand tighter into yours, “Of course I’m not” you added, Although your tone was somewhat stern, your voice almost cracked as you failed to hide just how much his question hurt. “Why would you think that? Bucky, if I ever did anything-”

“No” he cut you off. Your sudden change in attitude worried him, and now his words drowned in guilt. “You never did anything wrong. I’m sorry.”

“What is it?” you questioned, dragging him by his hand to a nearby table. You put your own glass down, and turned to him, “Tell me”

“It’s nothing” Bucky shook his head, silently laughing as he stared at your shoes.

“Why don’t you want to dance with us?”

“I don’t like dancing,” he shrugged.

“See?” you smiled, wrapping both your hands around his. “If you had told me that from the beginning I would have dropped it. But you told me you don’t think you’re one of us. What does that mean? And you asked me if I’m making fun of you. I would never, Bucky”

Despite the speakers blasting music loud enough to make the windows shake, silence settled between the two of you. You awaited his answer, softly rubbing your thumb across his knuckles. 

“I feel stupid” he shook his head, “I don’t even know what I’m doing at this party. No one wants me here anyway”

“I want you here”

“You’re just saying that because you’re a nice person”

“I’m not nice enough to go around and make sure everyone feels welcome”

“Then why are you here with me?” he scoffed.

“Because I like you?” you hesitated despite it being the truth, and felt your ears burst into flames. In some way, you felt a deep pain in the depths of your chest as you spoke the words, but as soon as they left your mouth, you actually felt relieved. “I liked you for some time, but I had no idea how to approach you, so I thought maybe you’d want to dance with me.”

There was nothing but confusion on his features. His eyes studied yours, looking for the lie. He gawked and all but gasped when you maintained the eye contact and sent him a sweet, reassuring smile. “You like me?” Bucky asked, “Why?”

“Don’t be like that” you frowned, “You’re amazing”

“You don’t know me”

“But I want to”

He bitterly chuckled, the disbelief in his tone sounding almost condescending. “No, you don’t”

“Listen” you said, “If it’s really dancing that you don’t like, we can do something else. We can, I don’t know, talk, do shots? Race down the street or sit down on the porch and roll the joints for these dumbasses. But if it’s me that you don’t like, tell me and I’ll go now and won’t bug you again”

“You’re not bugging me,” Bucky said, his voice barely audible.

“Really?” you beamed almost not able to believe your ears, “Do you wanna-”

“Let’s, um” he laughed, “Let’s dance.”

You weren’t going to object - it was what you came to this shitty party for anyway. Keeping your hand tightly secured around his, you dragged him through the room, searching for a darker corner of the dance floor. You knew he was already somewhat uncomfortable and didn’t want to make everything worse by having him end up in the middle of a mosh pit or something worse.

“Hey there!” Clint’s voice reached your ears. You stopped dead in your tracks and cursed under your breath before turning to face him.

Bucky looked confused and cornered while Clint was as smug as ever.

“This is a party, not a nerd fest, Y/n. The fuck’s he doing here?”

Nostrils flaring, you swallowed your anger and stared him down as you wrapped an arm around Bucky’s frame, “Why are you such an asshole?”

“It’s ok” Bucky tried to butt in.

“No, it’s not” you objected.

“How come the princess of this campus is the one with the balls in this relationship?”

Feeling Bucky tense, you took a deep breath, and decided to ignore the erroneous assumption. “He’s just too polite to sink to your level. But I’m not. So beat it, Clint.”

He pretended to turn around and leave, but stopped and faced you one more time, his expression hazardous. “I just wanna know. Were you his first kiss?”

You all but lunged at him to slap his cheek. And you would have done it had Bucky not stopped you at the last moment. 

“Wow!” Clint exclaimed, and turned to Bucky. “How the fuck did you land that piece of ass?” he asked, nodding towards you, “You can even hold you ground”

Bucky scoffed, and shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He looked around the room, slightly amused as you waited for his reaction. “I can very much hold my ground.”

“Prove it,” Clint taunted. “Prove you’re not a pussy”

“God” you rolled your eyes, but he continued.

“You two. Body shots” Clint commanded, eager to see Bucky chicken out.

“Oh, jesus christ!” you scoffed, “What are you, 14?”

Just when Clint was about to laugh and claim the win, Bucky nonchalantly accepted the challenge. “Sure”

“Bucky-” you turned to him, “We don’t have to do this, who cares what Clint has to-”

“You don’t wanna do it?” Bucky asked, looking down at you, his eyes cold and determined, nothing like they were before. He smiled lewdly, a smile that hid a lot. The hairs on your body stood up, yet you agreed through a simple nod.

Much to Clint’s surprise, Bucky led you to the bar, his grip strong around your waist as he guided you across the room. “Who goes first?”

“I don’t… I don’t care” you mumbled, amazed and still in shock following his sudden change of attitude.

“Come on” Bucky smiled, and fisted the back of his collar, elegantly pulling his sweater over his head. He handed it to you, and for a second you wondered why he was wearing both a sweater and a shirt, but this thought was wiped from your mind, literally obliterated, blown to pieces, fucking erased when your eyes landed on his naked top half. 

The music had been turned down, everyone around you watching carefully. Girls who otherwise would have never looked in his direction gawked and giggled to one another, unable to look away from him. And frankly, neither could you. From his chiseled and defined abs, to his tan chest and the unearthly, bloodcurdling scars that littered his frame, you found yourself struggling to function properly. Who was this guy?

Bucky sat on the bar, a slice of lemon in between his fingers. “Where do you want it?” he asked, waving the salt around.

“Wherever you want it, Bucky!” you shook your head, enthusiastically smiling from ear to ear, “You got it”

“It’s your turn to choose” he urged you.

“Fine” you grinned, “Lean back”

With a side smirk, he laid down on the bar, his chest and abdomen on full display for you and everyone else in the room. You moved to stand by his side, your left hand on his massive thigh as you peppered salt in on the dips in his abdomen. His whole frame rose with every breath he took, and by the second, your need for him grew stronger.

Bucky placed his warm hand on your hip. “Whenever you’re ready”

“Oh, I’m ready all right” you giggled, grabbing your shot.

Before slipping the lemon slice between his teeth, Bucky sent you a wink, and you pussy didn’t fail to respond in an instant. All eyes were on you, whispers and gossip all over, but you drowned them out as you leaned down and licked your way up his body. His abdominal muscles clenched under your tongue, yet somehow off his skin, the salt tasted sweet. You downed the tequila and moved towards his face, your teeth gently grabbing onto the lemon slice as your heart beat out of your chest. And of course he didn’t let go too easily. 

Close to bursting into nervous laughter, you opened your eyes, finding his blue ones menacingly staring at you. You were ready to pull away without that damned slice in order to just breathe, but then he unclenched his jaw. You exhaled with relief, his lips brushing against yours before you managed to stand up.

And when you did, you felt disheveled. The amount of tension that tortured your mind during these seconds compared to nothing you had ever experienced before. Every part of your body burned and you sucked on that poor lemon slice for too fucking long in order to pull yourself back together. 

“Your turn” Bucky teased, sitting up. You met his eyes and chuckled. “You don’t have to take your shirt off if you don’t want to,” he announced but you rolled our eyes and scoffed.

“Yeah, right”

After ushering Bucky off the bar, you watched him dress himself back up. When he was ready, you took his spot and salaciously grinned at him as you pulled your top over your head, your breasts inches away from his hungry eyes.

“Lean on your elbows, doll” he said, and you almost burst into flames at the pet name.

You did as told and lowered yourself back.

Tens of people watched you, yet the only eyes you cared about were Bucky’s. He stared at you as if he was going to eat you alive, and frankly, at this point, you were willing to beg for it.

“Take this” he said, placing another slice of lemon between your teeth, before grabbing the salt and pouring a healthy amount across your breasts.

As he lowered himself over your body, you heaved in anticipation, your chest nearing his face with every tortured breath you took. And when it happened, it felt like pure electricity attacked your body. His devilish tongue brushed against your skin, around the curve of your tits, his breath hot and wet as a smile was visible at the corners of his mouth.

You continued to watch him as he straightened his back to take the shot, and almost choked on the slice between your teeth when he leaned down again. He didn’t hold back, his lips crashing against yours, the aggravation of his movement making the lemon juice drip down your chin. And this could’ve gone so much differently, but he had a task. Bucky ripped the slice away from your teeth, pulling away as he munched on it.

You were lost. Completely and utterly in pure awe with this man. In a matter of minutes he went from a cute nerd you were soft for, to a sculptured man who you were fucking weak for. And judging by his proud expression, he knew it.

“Ok, ok, fine, fuck it” Clint called, his voice pulling you out of your thoughts. “I fucking take everything back. Though you, Buck-” he added, “Could fucking ditch the dweb attire and maybe… I don’t know, stop being fucking weird., cause man-” he whistled, looking Buck up and down before turning around and leaving without another word.

“Oh my god” you laughed, and so did Bucky.

You wanted to stand up, but he was quicker, grabbing your waist and helping you to your feet. “Got some shit I need to tell you about me” he confessed, his voice low, right against your ear.

“No shit” you scoffed, slapping his chest.

“Your place or mine?”

“Whichever is closer”

[buckyownsmylife]

hold up - andy barber fluff

The one where Andy gets you pregnant but you’re young and haven’t been dating for long.

Warnings:  Age gap (Divorced!Andy w/ College!Reader, so she’s legal), pregnancy, light angst, supportive!Andy, mentions of abortion, fluff, mentions of smutty thoughts so I don’t think I advise minors to read this, AU! where Jacob is alive and in college and Laurie and Andy are divorced, minor medical scare from Andy’s confusion, miscommunication that leads to slightly asshole!Andy but it’s quick A/N: Special thanks to @navybrat817​ and @angrythingstarlight​ for helping me choose this collage. This fic was requested a while back. I ended up focusing more on the fact that the reader was younger than Andy (which wasn’t even part of the request) than on the fact that they hadn’t been dating for long, mostly because in my mind, this was happening in the same universe as this fic. Hope you guys like it and respect the reader’s decision to keep the baby the same way you should respect it if she decided to abort it or give it up for adoption. 

Andy’s P.O.V.

Another day, another case, another headache. Working in law gets more tiring every day, and yet I persisted. Even through a divorce and its subsequent complications, I persisted. Sometimes, I forgot why.

I missed the days I remembered why I got into law in the first place. Those idyllic mornings, when I still thought I could change the world. Now all I wanted to do was to get home and eat my girlfriend’s pussy until she passed out from pleasure.

Just the thought of her sweet cunt had me licking my lips as I drove back to my place, wishing I could stop by hers instead. It still weirded me out that I was now in a relationship with someone that was my son’s age, someone who was still in college, but then I remembered all the moments we shared and was overcome with the realization that I simply didn’t want to let her go.

I knew it was selfish of me, but I believed I deserved at least this good thing in my life after my separation. As long as she wanted me, I wouldn’t let her go. And I was pretty sure that if she decided to leave me, I’d still fight for her to stay.

I loved her. I loved her enough to get through the hazard that was coming clean about our relationship to Jacob. I loved her enough to dream about a future together, even if it looked too far away for now. 

Still, I’d caught myself daydreaming about coming home to her more and more these days. It seemed that the more exhausted I was, the more I wanted her to be waiting for me when I crossed the apartment’s door, and I found myself thinking about buying a ring too many times for someone who had gone through such a lousy divorce and was dating a girl who still had college exams to worry about.

I knew our future together - if there even was one - was still too far, but I couldn’t help but want it now. Like, right now. So the fact that I wouldn’t be able to see her for another week or so while she prepared for finals was the closest thing to hell I could go through right now.

Which only made the sight of her by my apartment’s door that much sweeter. “Baby girl, what are you doing here?” Not even giving her the chance to explain, I pulled her into a needy kiss, desperate to taste her again.

I didn’t even notice that, in my eagerness to have her in my arms once more, I had dropped my briefcase and coat on the floor, opting to pay attention to the girl I held in the middle of the hallway.

I only saw the tracks of tears in her beautiful face when I released her, too. Immediately, my heart started to pound against my chest. Could something bad have happened to her? Was she hurt?

Cradling her face in my hands, I automatically started to wipe away her tears. “What’s going on, sweetheart? Why are you crying?” For whatever reason, my words only served to cause her crying to become more frantic, her sobs breaking out of her chest freely now.

My heart felt heavy at the sight of her that desperate. The urgent need to do something, to help her, but not knowing what could be done made my throat feel like it was closing. So I did the first thing I could come up with - I picked her up, not caring about my personal belongings at all as I managed to open the door and take her to the couch with me. 

“Shh… It’s alright, baby girl. I’m right here with you. Just tell me what happened, I’m sure I can help you somehow.” Again, it seemed like it was the wrong thing to say. My words took her to the verge of a panic attack if her breathing pattern was anything to go by, so I bit my tongue and focused on what I knew I could do at that very moment to help her, even if it was very little. I pulled her even closer to me, so her head was resting on my chest, and softly cradled her while rubbing her arm with one hand, while the other played with her hair. “I love you,” I repeated, over and over again. “You’re okay.”

It took some time, much longer than I hoped for, but at last her sobs started to come in bigger intervals, her breathing becoming deeper again. Slowly, she started to calm down and focus on me, and I waited until she was ready to speak, terrified of making her start crying again by pushing her to share what had caused such a terror.

“I went to the doctor today,” she started, and if at first my mind drew a blank because I had in no way anticipated this to be the start of her explanation, my heart quickly started to pound against my chest when I managed to process what she had said. 

Was she sick? I knew she had been feeling a bit under the weather recently, even throwing up some mornings, but I thought it was a bug that had been going around. She was in college, after all, and those environments were filled with bacteria, just waiting to spread any sort of illness they could provoke.

Was it something serious? For her to be that way, it had to have been. My hands started to sweat at the prospect of losing her. Automatically, I held her tighter, in desperate need to hear more but terrified of what was coming our way.

But she didn’t seem able to say it, whatever it was. Her eyes that had finally connected to mine since she started crying, suddenly fell down to her own hands, and her sniffles warned me that she had started to cry again.

“Y/N…” I begged, covering her hands with mine. “Princess, please, please talk to me. I’m going crazy here, sweetheart. I feel like I might pass out any second now.” Surprisingly, that granted me a giggle, and then, through sniffles and tears, she finally looked up at me again.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

I didn’t know how to drop this bomb on Andy. How do you tell your much older boyfriend, who already has a child who’s your exact age, that you’re pregnant with his kid? I was terrified. Terrified that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore, that he would try to force me to get an abortion.

Terrified that I would have to do this alone.

But I had to tell him. Of course, I had. So taking one last deep breath, I squeezed the hand that was holding mine before confessing, in the bluntest possible way, since it was the only one I could come up with right now, “I’m pregnant.”

I don’t know what I was expecting. I hadn’t actually had the time to figure out how to tell him the news - hence my blurting in the simplest possible way - but that also meant I hadn’t really imagined any outcome for this. I had a lot of fears, of course, but no actual expectation. Still, Andy’s reaction managed to catch me by surprise.

At first, there was nothing at all. He just sat there, his huge hands still covering mine as he stared at me with a blank expression in his face. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could even hear it, amidst the silence in the room. Then, out of nowhere, he pounced on me, effectively knocking me back on the couch when he captured my lips with his. 

I couldn’t catch my breath as he enthusiastically devoured me, his hands cradling my face and caging me in as he forced me to make out with him on his sofa, like two teenagers after school. Andy was such a great kisser that it was hard for me not to melt against the soft cushions, instinctively opening my legs further so he could fit perfectly between them.

The way his strong body made me feel when it was covering mine was precisely what had got us in this mess, in the first place.

“Andy…” I tried to speak and push him away, but he was still kissing me desperately, opting for quick pecks around my face since I didn’t let him deepen his kiss again. “Andy!” I admonished when he continued to ignore me, choosing to suck tiny little bruises from my jaw down to my neck, instead. 

“Baby, I’m terrified over here. Can you please stop trying to distract me and tell me what you’re thinking?” That caught his attention. He finally reduced his kisses, slowly going back to his seating position on the couch and bringing me with him, laying me over his lap again.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s just… I’m so fucking relieved. First, I thought you’d break up with me. Then, since you talked about going to the doctor’s, I thought something was wrong with you. I was desperate, baby girl. Desperate. I figured, one way or another, I was going to lose you. And I don’t want to lose you.”

Hearing what was going on through his mind while I struggled to figure out how to explain what was happening made my heart feel heavy with guilt. I guess that, in the state I was in I kind of thought he would have realized what I was going to say, or simply not anticipate any sort of information whatsoever, so to hear that his mind jumped to these worst-case scenarios was heartbreaking to me.

“You’re not gonna lose me,” I assured him, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it in a small show of support. “I’m right here. But we need to figure out how we’re going to do this.” Andy blinked a few times before managing to voice his confusion.

“Do this what?” And then it was my turn to be confused.

“This… kid. What are we gonna do about this?” I watched as his nostrils flared, his grip on me momentaneously hardening, before he managed to get his emotions in check through a long exhale.

“You’re not seriously considering aborting my child, right?” The question - the tone - was like a slap to the face. In all honesty, that option had never even crossed my mind, but the way he was saying it, like I had no say in the matter, killed me inside.

“I’m gonna give you the time to figure out what the hell is wrong with you. I know that this is a pretty overwhelming situation and I just sprung this on you, but that is no excuse to address me in such a manner. Especially if you consider just how much I’m the one who’s really going to have my entire life turned upside down because of this.”

Andy’s P.O.V.

I groaned as I watched her leave the room in the direction of the bathroom, knowing this was her way of letting me know I shouldn’t look for her until I was prepared to apologize. But I was already ready. I knew how terrible my words had sounded, but it came from a place of love and happiness with the situation other than possessiveness. 

So, with that in mind, I rubbed my face before getting up and following her, just in time to find her reentering my bedroom. “I’m sorry, princess. I-I just didn’t know how to react when the thought of you getting an abortion popped into my mind. It’s not like you’re a fucking one night stand or a fling to me, but you’re absolutely right. It’s your body and you should do what makes you comfortable. I just ask you to keep in mind that I would love to have this child with you. I’d support you - I’d support the both of you unconditionally. I know we’ve only been dating for a few months, but I’m serious about you. I’m serious about us. I’d marry you tomorrow if it’s what you need to know how serious I really am about this. And yeah, it’s gonna be hard, but I’m here for you. I’m always gonna be here for you, every step of the way.”

By the time I was done with my speech, she had tears in her eyes again, only this time, I knew what it was about, so I only chuckled. “Come here, sweetheart.” I pulled her to me, hugging her close to my body as I caressed the back of her head. “We’re gonna be okay, one way or another.”

“You sure you’re not just gonna abandon me with a small child?” I knew that her question came from a place of insecurity, but I still couldn’t control myself as a growl escaped my chest, my hands tightening around her, as I reminded her, “You’re mine, baby girl. I’m never gonna leave you. Don’t even think that.”

Slowly, she stopped crying, until only a few sniffles were heard every once in a while. “Okay,” she mumbled in a small voice, clearing the bedroom from what was once a silent atmosphere.

“Okay?”

“Okay, let’s do this. Let’s… Let’s have a baby together.”

A huge smile slowly took over my face as I cradled hers in mine to make sure there was no trace of hesitation in her eyes. “We’re gonna be parents?”

“We’re gonna be parents,” she confirmed, accepting my hug again. “Well, you’re already a parent.” The reminder had me chuckling to myself.

“I can’t wait to tell Jacob about this. He’s going to flip.” The mischievous tone in my voice earned me a playful slap on the shoulder. 

“No teasing him more than necessary, Andrew. He’s already going to be pretty affected by this.”

“Can’t make any promises.”

[radiorenjun]

I Don't Need It

• Pairing: Na Jaemin x Reader

• Genre: Angst, Comedy, Fluff

• Na Jaemin despised the idea of soulmates, he wanted to fight against fate for choosing his soulmate for him. Even if it means his stubborn childhood best friend wouldn’t stop trying to make him accept about the similar tattoos on their wrists.

• Warnings: mental breakdowns, heartbreak, rejection, major angst, arguments, flashbacks, physical injuries, fighting, panic attacks, mentions of death. I swear this series is getting closer to an end oml

• Wordcount : 7.6k

• Masterlist here!

• Chapters: XVI, XVII

Jaemin sprinted down to the fields carrying his duffel bag, panting as he bumped into his coach. “Jaemin! Where have you been, son? The game’s starting in two hours and you’re not in uniform!” Coach exclaimed, a big sigh of relief coming from the older man as he placed his hand on his forehead to wipe the sweat off of his brows. Jaemin knelt down to place his hands on his knees to catch his breath. 

“I’m sorry Coach, the traffic here was pretty bad. I came as soon as I could, I promise!” the team captain gasped out, standing straight as he held the strap of his duffle bag to give his teacher a nervous smile. Coach sighed heavily before pointing his thumb behind him, “whatever, don’t scare me like that. Go change up and get yourself warmed up. 7 Laps should do,” Coach waved it off with a comforting smile. 

“Thanks Coach, won’t let you down!” Jaemin exclaimed with a wide smile, immediately bolting to the locker rooms without hesitation. Coach smiled sadly as he watched the team captain sprint down the halls to try his best to get to the locker rooms as fast as he can, the sounds of the soles of his shoes making small squeaking sounds as they grind against the tiled floor. 

Lately, he had noticed how Jaemin had been completely distracted from things these past couple of months. He had noticed how the enthusiastic boy who had been working so hard for two years to earn his position as team captain had become a hollow shell of his former self a couple months ago. Since he had to keep things professional, he didn’t want to ask him anything personal. He can only hope things were going to look up for the brown haired boy. 

And for a small moment, things seemed like they did. 

“Jaemin! Where the hell were you? You’re almost late,” Younghoon exclaimed, barging into the locker rooms to spot his friend strapping his pads around his knees and arms before grabbing his socks. “Good evening to you too, Younghoon,” Jaemin greeted sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his teammate as he slipped on one of his socks, pulling it up his feet and grabbing his shoes from his duffle bag. 

“Relax, I just got stuck in traffic, it’s not that big of a deal,” Jaemin rolled his eyes, scoffing as he pulled the other pair of his socks up and slipped on his shoes before standing up on his two feet. “There weren’t many people on the bleachers when I got here anyway,” Jaemin patted his friend on his shoulder before grabbing his water bottle and zipping up his bag, walking up to his locker as if he had all the time in the world. 

“I’ll be right out, just let me take a moment to think things over a bit,” Jaemin waved his friend off, opening his locker before shoving his bag into it and looking at the mirror he had stuck on the door to examine his appearance. “Alright then, but don’t take too long. We’re going to have a role call soon,” Younghoon nodded, walking out of the locker room to jog back to the field where the others were. 

Jaemin sighed, hearing the door creak as it slowly closed. Shutting his locker door he backed away, slinging his towel around his shoulder before sitting down on one of the seats in the middle of the room. Sucking in his lips and kissing his teeth, he felt his heart getting heavy as his mind went through flashbacks to when he stopped by your house to give you those gifts he gathered.

‘I hope she liked it,’ he thought to himself, rubbing his forehead as he attempted to compose himself up to put up a serious front for the game. ‘It’s the last game,’ he leaned his chin against his palm, looking down at his shoes, remembering how you and your family had gifted them back on his 17th birthday, a couple days before he was elected as Captain. 

  “Happy Birthday, Nana!” you exclaimed with a bright smile on your face, giving him a big hug after you placed your gift along with the other pile of elegantly wrapped presents from his friends and relatives. “You’re finally in your sweet seventeen! How does it feel to be on your last stage of teenage hood?” you grinned, looking up at your friend with a playful expression.

Jaemin bit back a frown when he noticed his relatives and friends gushing at your sudden display of affection at the corner of his eyes. In a failed attempt to hide his annoyance from you, he gently wiggled himself out of your embrace, giving you an awkward (obviously forced) smile as he placed his hands on your shoulder gently, taking a step back to keep some distance in between the two of you. 

“Thanks for coming Y/n,” he smiled, letting go of your shoulders with his lips pressed into a thin line. “Of course. I’m literally across the street,” you rolled your eyes, laughing lightly before grabbing your gift and placing it in his arms. “Open it! Seriously, this year I saved up for your present considering my parents are constantly nagging me for wasting their money a lot,” you giggled, gulping inaudibly as you avoid the eerie glares your parents sent you upon hearing your last comment.

Jaemin chuckled, looking back at your parents behind you and sending them a genuine smile, waving slightly as he watched your parents walk into the kitchen to chat with his other relatives. “Are you sure you didn’t steal money from a bank or something, the box actually feels like it has something inside of it,” he chuckled, attempting to get rid of the annoyance bubbling up inside of him as you giggled in response. 

“I can guarantee you, no banks are robbed. I worked hard babysitting for my neighbours for weeks to get enough money to buy you a present without my parents complaining. I promise!” you grinned, putting a hand on your chest and putting the other up beside you as if you were making a pledge. “Now open it! I want to see your reaction!” you exclaimed, clasping your hands together with a small clap. 

Jaemin looked down at his gift, knowing that people are going to comment at how sweet the two of you are being. Biting his lip before shaking his head ‘no’, “I’ll open it later after the party, I’ll let you know my-” 

“Oh come on, Jae. Open the gift, I wanna see what she got you, too,” Hyuck exclaimed, coming up to the two of you and slinging an arm around both of your shoulders, giving you a mischievous grin. “Not gonna lie, I’m quite curious to see what she got you,” Jeno exclaimed with a soft smile, snucking his hands into his pockets with a soft shrug as he walked up to you guys. 

Jaemin looked up at his friends with a blank expression before looking back at your hopeful expression. Sighing heavily, he sat on his couch and set the gift on his lap, pulling the string you had tied all over the box gently before pulling the lid off. Eyes widening slightly when he saw that it was the NIKE sport shoes he had been bugging about for the past two months. 

‘Exactly how many babysitting jobs did you take to get this under two months?’ 

“I only got enough money for half, I used the birthday money I got from my aunt to pay the rest of it,” you spoke, as if you knew what he was thinking at that exact moment. “Just so you know I didn’t do something illegal,” you joked, raising your pinky to indicate that you really didn’t do anything suspicious to get him the shoes in question. 

“Y/n, you really didn’-”

“Y/n! You got my son a pair of shoes?” Mrs. Na exclaimed, walking up towards you and landing a hand on your shoulder as Hyuck backed off to give both of your parents a polite bow. “Y/n has been working a lot of babysitting duties to get Jaemin these out of the goodness in her heart,” your mother bragged, making your smile falter slightly, your eyes darting to Jaemin’s figure. 

“No, Mom! It’s nothing really, I just wanted to do something nice for a friend!” you shook your head abruptly, waving your hands around. not wanting to make a big fuss about this, knowing full well that Mrs. Na was going to bring up the soulmate talk again. You didn’t want Jaemin to get upset on his birthday because of this.

“That’s so nice of her! Y/n, you’re such an angel. Jaemin, why can’t you get her something as well? Usually, the gentlemen always buys the lady gifts. Why can’t you just accept the fact that you’re lucky enough to have Y/n as a soulmate and drop this whole nonsense,” his mother exclaimed, giving you both an innocent smile as she softly pats Jaemin on the shoulder. 

You watched as the slightly annoyed look on Jaemin’s face darkened, his jaw clenched slightly as his fists gripped hard on the box to suppress his anger. “Really mom? Right now?” he deadpanned, looking up at his mother with half-lidded eyes. Clicking his tongue, he closed the box again and stood up from his sitting position on the couch, handing you the box with a lazy attempt of a smile. 

“Jaemin doesn’t have to accept the present if he doesn’t want to, it’s his birthday after all,” your father said, attempting to ease down the tension in the atmosphere, waving it off as he placed a hand on your head to give you some comfort, causing a small smile to spread across your lips as you looked down at your feet.

“Here, you can have it. I don’t think I’m going to use it much anyways,” Jaemin spoke with a click of his tongue, oblivious to how a wave of sadness glossed over your pupils at his words. You stopped yourself from dropping your jaw as you saw Mrs. Na’s eyes widened in shock as well at her son’s sudden rude behavior, knowing that if he didn’t accept the gift, she was going to give him a shameless scolding in front of his friends and relatives. 

Gulping, you pushed the gift back to him as you shook your head. “Come on! You’re going to be Captain soon! I’m sure you can use these to flex or as a celebration. You can just keep them! You don’t have to wear them or anything-” Jaemin was unaware that you were trying to keep him from getting scolded by his mother in front of his friends. All that was going through his mind at that exact moment was how he was blaming you for embarrassing him in front of his family and friends. 

“No, I insist. You can take it back. Hell, you can wear it if you want,” he shook his head, shoving the box back in your arms with an annoyed huff. You held the box against your chest at his sudden use of force, surprised at his sharp tone as you sucked in a deep breath to compose yourself as you began to feel a jolting pain in your wrist and a dull ache in your chest.

“Jaemin! It’s rude to give back birthday gifts! What’s wrong with you? That’s your soulmate, right there. You can’t just shove a gift back to her so rudely, this isn’t how I raised you. Accept her gift right now or else,” Mrs. Na scolded, attracting attention from the other guests in the house. Jaemin tensed up, taking a deep breath to keep his cool before looking back up at you and forcefully taking the box from your arms with one hand. 

“Happy?” he mumbled under his breath quietly, but loud enough for only you to hear, his cold tone inevitably sending daggers piercing into your heart. He then walked off to place the box along with the other pile of presents, leaving you standing there awkwardly in between your parents and your friends, who were equally surprised at his sudden actions. 

“Fuck.” Jaemin hissed under his breath, burying his head in his arms as he remembered the lost, hurtful expression on your face. His chest aching with guilt and his stomach bubbling with anger as he tries to suppress his emotions. He couldn’t imagine how hurt you must’ve felt by his harsh attitude, he couldn’t help but feel angered by his own past actions, his immaturity, his selfishness. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t come, really,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his face out of frustration as he stood up, kicking the lockers to release some of his pent up anger before sighing heavily. He winced when a sudden pain appeared on his wrist, his heart aching as he couldn’t get you out of his thoughts. 

The way your eyes glossed whenever he said or did something out of anger, the way you still smiled through the pain he put you through, the way you would still pretend to be okay and pretended that his actions didn’t affect you at all deep down the next day. The thought of how you came to start hating the soulmate system because of him made him feel an unbelievable amount of guilt. 

The thought of how many times Renjun had comforted you as you were crying your eyes out because of what he did sent knives into his heart and flames into his blood. The thought of how the thing you desired most, the thing you wanted most in your life, love. Was the one thing he had stomped over and over again to the point you couldn’t find the energy to fix what’s left made him want to tear himself from the inside and out. 

“I’m a fucking asshole, I really didn’t deserve her,” he hit his head against the metal surface of his locker door, ignoring the pain that came with it, for the pain in his chest was greater than anything he had ever imagined. He couldn’t imagine how scared you were when you felt this searing pain for the first time all alone, he still couldn’t imagine how you still had the patience to live through this until you became numb to the pain. 

He really didn’t deserve you. He didn’t deserve your affections. He didn’t deserve to receive all of your love letters. He didn’t deserve to receive all of your weekly Thursday cookies. He didn’t deserve the shoes you got him for his birthday (the one he’s currently wearing). He didn’t deserve to receive your music box as a gift. Hell, he doesn’t deserve to get an ounce of kindness from you. 

All he knew was that if you didn’t show up. If you really prove to him that you want him out of your life, he was willing to deal with the heartbreak that comes with it tenfold. From now on, he would stop being so immature. So ungrateful. So selfish. He didn’t want to be the same person he was then. 

He knows that from this day on, he wouldn’t complain about any of your decisions. He would do what you have been doing for the past two years. Take the pain and push it down his throat until he was almost walking on them. 

“Wait, wait, wait, let me take a minute to run things over.”

You bit your lip, gripping your pillow against your chest tighter as you heard Renjun take a deep inhale through your phone speakers. “Jaemin came up to your house without any warnings whatsoever to give you an ominous bag that could’ve possibly lead to your demise and apologized to you and asked you to watch his game this afternoon last week and you decided to tell me this the very last minute?” Renjun exclaimed with a deadpan tone. 

You gritted your teeth, making a small ‘pop’ sound with your lips before sighing. “Well... yeah basically,” you shrugged, placing your chin on your pillow as you winced at your last minute decision. But you desperately need your best friend to give you advice if what you’re doing was the right thing to do. “So what? Are you actually going to go? It’s starting in two hours-ish?” Renjun asked as he played his game, you could almost hear the battle going on behind the screen as he aggressively clicks on his keyboard while muttering incoherent swears under his breath. 

Pressing your lips into a thin line, you gripped the letter Jaemin had written for you in your hands. You let out another exhausted sigh, looking up at your wall clock. “No, I don’t think so,” you shook your head, realising that Renjun couldn’t see you do so a few seconds afterward. “I mean, I considered it. But I don’t know, I’m scared,” you frowned, placing the letter beside your phone. 

“Are you sure? I know you’re scared but are you sure you don’t want to come to his last game?” Renjun asked, popping a chip in his mouth as he listened closely to your upcoming words. “Aren’t you supposed to be hyping up my decision to be an independent woman who’s going to live her life all sad and alone because she just rejected her soulmate,” you complained in a joking tone, attempting to lighten up the situation a bit. 

“Listen, listen!” he chuckled, swearing afterwards when he avoided an attack. “I’m not saying you have to. I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself and it’s completely understandable for you to say no considering he treated you like trash for the past two years and got pretty petty when you pulled an uno reverse card for three months,” Renjun explained, popping a potato chip in his mouth in between sentences, giving you ‘that low quality asmr experience’ as he would like to say. 

“I just had flashbacks to when you were still a big simp for him. How you used to come to all of his games and how you said you promised to yourself that you were going to attend all of them until his last one,” Renjun continued on, pausing his game to pay close attention when choosing his words considering you’re actually asking for advice from him. “I would prefer you not to go, to be honest. But if I remember correctly, you did say it’s been some sort of tradition for you two to hang out after a game or something?” Renjun scratched the back of his head. 

“So you’re saying that it wouldn’t hurt to go one last time?” you asked, looking back down on the letter in your hands. “I’m saying that this is a choice you should be making yourself, not me. Think over the pros and cons and weigh them all out. The choices you make today will heavily impact on your love life,” Renjun advised with a click of his tongue, playing with the controller in his hand as he gazed at the paused game on the screen. 

“Pros of me going to his game is fixing our relationship and us starting over. But the cons of me going is that I’d possibly get hurt again at some point, I’m not ready to get hurt again,” you frowned, picking on your nails nervously as you think things over with furrowed brows. “Though, if I don’t go, I would completely get rid of the chance of having a future with Jaemin and lose contact with him all together for possibly the rest of our lives,” you mumbled under your breath, letting out a huff of breath in distress. 

“The pro is that I’m certain I won’t feel the same pain as the one I’ve been feeling for the majority of high school, right?” you let out a nervous laugh, looking back at your phone. “Y/n, you and I both know that you know the answer to that,” Renjun sighed sympathetically, knowing full well that either way, you had to risk the fact that you were still going to feel emotional pain. Back when you were still in middle school, you often researched the whole soulmate system religiously.

You knew that despite the fact that it was still a rare thing, rejecting your soulmate was equivalent to saying no to fate. There was a thirty percent chance that you would rekindle your relationship afterwards considering you two were practically made for each other. But you knew that there was a greater chance of being alone with the constant dull ache in your chest for the rest of your life. And you weren’t sure if you could handle that considering you haven’t been doing so well emotionally during the past three months. 

Well, he did reject you first. It’s not that you were seeking for revenge or anything, but it would be reasonable for you to refuse, right? Though the thought of living with eternal loneliness with the five percent chance of finding someone else was quite unsettling to think about. You knew that one your soulmate rejects you for good, the soulmate mark would turn grey and fade away. But the outline of your mark would leave permanent marks to remind you of the pain for the rest of your life. 

Were you willing to risk getting hurt one more time and go to the game to support your soulmate or will you stay home and risk having the one thing you admired so much disappear from your life permanently?

“So, have you decided yet? The game starts in less than thirty minutes,” Renjun asked after a pregnant pause, smiling as he could practically hear the gears in your head working. You have never been the quiet thinker, after all. You looked down at your wrist, tugging the sleeve of your shirt down to reveal your soulmate mark, your eyes burning holes at the evidence of your emotional pain painted on your skin.

How could something so small cause so much pain?

“I’ll give you a moment to think things over yourself, okay?” Renjun coaxed in a soft tone, the same tone a mother would use to console their child. “Okay,” you replied shortly, biting your lip nervously. “I’ll see you at school, right?” he chuckled, his thumb hovering over the red button. “Of course, where else would I be?” you responded with a light laugh, shaking your head at your friend. You both said your own goodbyes before Renjun hung up the call without another word to continue his game and leave you with your thoughts.

“I’m still not sure,” you mumbled almost inaudibly, rubbing your hands over your face as you got up from your bed, dropping the letter on the pillow as you walked over to your closet. Sliding the door open, your eyes scanned the white hoodie Jaemin had left in your room a couple months ago. Back when the two of you were still on neutral terms, Jaemin would bring an extra hoodie since you would always forget yours (despite the fact that he knew how you were just making excuses to wear his clothes).

You didn’t know why he kept letting you use his hoodie despite the fact that you both knew you were purposely leaving yours at home. You remembered how he would flick your forehead whenever you got to his car and realise that you forgot your hoodie. He didn’t make you run back to your house to get one. You remembered how he would reach to the backseat of his car with a heavy sigh before pulling out some random hoodie of his and throwing it at your face sloppily. 

You remembered how he would chuckle and flick your forehead before scolding you for the next five minutes as he drove the both of you to school about how you should never forget to bring your hoodie. How you shouldn’t make it a habit in case he fell sick and couldn’t bring you his. (In which you proceeded with replying how you hoped he would fall for you instead of falling sick, earning a death glare from the older boy in return)

You couldn’t help but smile as you pulled the hoodie from the closet, holding onto the clothing rack as you pulled the sleeve towards you to get a closer look at the clothing. It still had the strong distinctive smell of Jaemin’s cologne despite the fact it’s been locked away in your closet for the past five or four months. Your heart ached when you realized you missed those moments. 

You missed having your usual morning conversations, your after school trips to the diner your parents used to take you everyday for lunch back when you were still in middle school, your little study dates. (not really dates but you just liked to call them that to fulfill your romantic fantasies with Jaemin despite the fact that he has told you countless of times that he’s only there because he doesn’t want both of your mothers scolding you for waking up at ass o’clock to do the homework you forgot about)

You missed Jaemin in general. The way he smiles whenever you do something to amuse him or make him happy. The way he worked hard to achieve his position as team captain while also making sure you were studying and eating well from time to time. You knew deep down Jaemin didn’t hate you, he still cared about you despite his mean actions. The hurtful things he did to you the past two years were hard to forget but you knew he was just frustrated. 

It’s not that his actions weren’t acceptable but you couldn’t help but admit that part of this was your fault as well. If only you weren’t as eager to convince him to be your soulmate maybe the two of you would still be on good terms. If only you didn’t shove it into his face and overwhelm him with surprise gifts or small love letters ever since your soulmate mark appeared on your skin. Maybe then he would’ve given you a chance. 

Looking it from his perspective, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for overwhelming him and pressuring him to accept your affections when he wasn’t sure of his own feelings towards you. Frowning, you remembered that day before the dinner party happened when Jaemin was driving the both of you back home. Your heart ached when you remembered how upset he was when then, remembering how he smiled at you when you succeed in comforting him. 

You remembered the feeling of being content that day, listening to music as you and Jaemin talk about the random things you did at school during classes as you were on the way home. You missed it. You missed him. At this point, you didn’t care anymore if you and Jaemin won’t be a thing. You wanted your best friend back, turning your head towards the frame on your nightstand, you let out a small sigh. 

Walking towards it, you picked the frame up in your hands to get a closer look. Your eyes softened when you saw the little scribbles you drew on the glass to decorate the picture inside of it. Inside the frame was a picture the two of you had taken together back during the summer right before you started middle school. Your parents had taken the both of you to Disneyland together to celebrate your graduation. 

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the picture, seeing as Jaemin had a bunny cap on his head and posing dramatically to the camera with a peace sign, his other hand wrapped around your neck to pull you down against him. While you, on he other hand, were smacking his arm aggressively to make him let you go as you laughed at the camera, giving the camera a peace sign as well. Your blurred hand causing a small chuckle from your own throat.

You were both so happy back then. 

“Honestly, despite everything that happened, I would be surprised if she didn’t come,” Hyuck said, tugging on his socks before smacking his thighs with his lips sucked in as the three boys scanned the crowd to look for the girl that is Jaemin’s soulmate. “Really? Why?” Jeno asked with a small chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. “Wouldn’t it be the other way around?” he cocked his head to the side in confusion. 

“Dude, think about it! I’ve seen k-dramas before. If Jaemin hadn’t invited her, I’m sure she would’ve come here anyway to watch whether he would fuck up on the last game of the year or not,” Hyuck smacked Jeno’s shoulder, a proud smile etched across the honey boy’s lips. “Listen man, she’s going to come here any second. I can feel it in my bones,” he added on, standing up dramatically and squinting his eyes at the students gathering to watch the game on the bleachers. 

Jeno let out a small snort, standing up for a moment to give the younger boy a smack upside the head, smiling when he heard the boy let out a soft yelp despite the fact that he barely touched the boy. “What are you psychic?” he shot back with a raised brow. Hyuck glared down at the samoyed looking bastard before him smiling innocently, “I might as well be. With a brain like mine, I’m pretty sure I am,” he retaliated, sticking his tongue out as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Keep telling yourself that, Lee,” Jeno shook his head with a small click of his tongue. “We’re both Lees, you prick.” 

“Shut up, both of you. Your loud asses are making my brainwaves malfunction, I can’t focus on finding y/n in the crowd,” Jaemin hissed, turning his head to his friends bickering right beside him before turning his head back to the crowd of students waiting for the game to start as they warm up for the next fifteen minutes. “Oh how the tables have turned,” Jeno chuckled, sharing a knowing look with Hyuck as they stared back at his friend.

At that moment in their eyes, Jaemin currently resembled a small hopeful puppy looking around for it’s owner, waiting for them to come home. Ironically to the reason why he was looking around so eagerly was almost no different than a puppy waiting for their owner to come home. With Jaemin’s brown hair messy and slight sweat dripping down his forehead as he looked around nervously, wishing desperately that you were sitting somewhere in the crowd with a corndog in hand waiting for him. 

“Once again, Lee Jeno, shut up,” Jaemin turned his head to give his friend an innocent smile before frowning abruptly and turning his head back to the crowd, biting his lip as he cracked his knuckles to release tension in his muscles, stretching his arms in the process. “Do you know what your simp ass searching for y/n reminds me of?” Hyuck asked, giving his brown haired friend a cheeky grin. 

“Y/n?” Jeno raised his brow teasingly.

“Bingo.”

“I’m getting flashbacks to when you would literally sprint like sonic the fucking hedgehog back to the locker rooms once the game was over so you wouldn’t have to talk to y/n and I quote ‘risk her embarrassing’ you in public’,” Hyuck raised both of his index and middle finger and wiggled them down to tease the boy even more. “Ah yes, poor girl was looking all over the stadium for you like a lost kitten, carrying water bottles for the whole group,” Younghoon suddenly joined in, sitting beside Jaemin and slinging his arm around the team captain’s shoulder. 

“You’re really making me feel like an actual jackass for getting my hopes up,” Jaemin deadpan, looking back at his friends with a raise of his brow, using his hand to slide Younghoon’s arm off of his shoulder with a roll of his eyes. “I’m sure she’s going to show up, Capt. Relax, we were just messing with you,” Younghoon hit the back of his hand against Jaemin’s chest, giving him a light heartening smile to make the boy ease up a bit. 

“As you said before, traffic was pretty bad right? School is what? 15-18 minutes away from her place?” Hyuck nodded enthusiastically, however the smile on his lips wasn’t genuine enough to convince him otherwise. “I shouldn’t get my hopes up anyway,” Jaemin frowned, feeling his heart grow heavy in his chest as he glanced back at the clock that was displayed on his phone lock screen, letting out a heavy sigh in response. 

Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he patted his knees in an attempt to lighten the mood. “This is the last game until we actually graduate, how are we feeling?”  he gave his teammates a sad smile, looking back at the stadium in front of them. “Like shit,” Hyuck responded with a small chuckle, laying his elbow on Jeno’s shoulder as they look around at their teammates chattering in the other benches. 

“We’re growing up,” Jeno stated with a sigh, leaning back on his two arms on the bench. “Damn, have you guys picked your colleges yet?” he asked once again, earning a small pregnant pause. “I have a few choices but I’m letting my parents decide this one,” Jaemin responded, clicking his tongue as his thoughts wandered back to you at the mention of colleges. 

Back when the two of you were still in middle school, the two of you promised that you would at least apply to the same college once or apply to colleges near each other so you could get in touch easily. He chuckled softly at the thought of making that pinky promise back when the two of you were still thirteen years old. ‘I don’t think we’re going to fulfill that promise, y/n,’ he thought to himself sadly, a sad smile spread across his face.

“They say that coach is electing a new captain soon, any bets?” Hyuck asked with a smile, raising his eyebrows suggestively as he nodded to their underclassmen chatting on the bench beside theirs. “What’s in it for us?” Younghoon asked, a grin spreading across his cheeks at the idea of one last bet. “How about if the loser gets to treat us to some barbeque?” Jeno piped up, pointing his index finger to the whole team. 

He truly wouldn’t blame you if you decided not to show up. But he does admit that it would sting if you didn’t, you were his number one supporter after all (aside from his parents, of course). He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if you didn’t show up, he doesn’t know what he was going to do if you truly want him out of your life. He doesn’t know how he’s going to avoid you for the rest of the semester. But considering graduation is less than three months away, he knew that he would make do with busying himself with studying.

The boys looked around, internally gulping for their wallets before nodding. “You’re on. take your pick, Lee,” Younghoon nodded, shrugging nonchalantly. “I think Jung Sungchan over there is going to be the less idiotic version of Jaemin,” Hyuck pointed out, his eyes darting towards their unbelievably tall underclassman who was laughing along a joke Chenle told him. “Tall kid,” Jeno commented with a chuckle. 

“I heard Yangyang’s taking a gap year before he goes back to Germany for college, my bets are on him,” Younghoon bit his lip, crossing his fingers together before aggressively pointing them at the German boy who was fiddling with his phone without a care in the world. “Good choice, good choice,” Jeno nodded, squinting his eyes at the younger boy before looking around his teammates. “Shotaro is pretty good, don’t you think?” Jeno commented. 

“So your bet is on Shotaro?” Jaemin asked, raising his brows in amusement as he watched his friends make their last bet of the year. “Look man, have faith in the kid. Your unfocused ass never saw how he would train with Sungchan everyday after practice, they basically have the same skills,” Jeno scoffed, rolling his eyes as he smacked Jaemin’s shoulder in response, letting out a soft laugh afterward.

“Are you joining the bet or not, Jaemin?” Hyuck asked, raising a brow at his younger friend. Jaemin let out a chuckle, shaking his head profusely. “I’m good, I think I’m broke enough,” Jaemin raised his hand to wave it off, indicating that he was happy to be a spectator of their silly little bet. “You guys are idiots for making bets right before college starts,” Jaemin commented, making his friends laugh and nod in agreement. 

“Coach is coming over, get up before you make anymore dumb decisions,” Jaemin teased with a light laugh, patting his friend’s shoulders before standing up and alerting his teammates to stand up and greet their coach with a formal bow before discussing over strategies five minutes before the game officially starts. 

During the Coach’s explanations, Jaemin’s eyes couldn’t help but wander towards the crowd sitting on the bleachers once again, his heart feeling even more heavier than before as his anxiety rises up in his veins. Trying to put his head back in the game, he tried his best to think positive and stop looking back at the bleachers. ‘She’s coming right?’

‘Right?’

Jaemin was sitting now on the same spot on the bench as he was before. But this time, he was alone. There was no one left in the stadium other than himself and probably the staff cleaning up the back storage room. But other than that, he was completely and utterly alone with no one else but his own thoughts. His wrist was burning, his heart was aching like never before. 

He wasn’t in his uniform anymore, he had showered and changed back into his original clothes. His team won the game as expected, everyone jumped for joy and congratulated them as they received their last trophy of the season. He watched as his friends, classmates and teammates gave each other some emotional support through hugs, bro-handshakes, pats on the back and other forms of silent congratulations. 

Though his mind wasn’t in a state to celebrate. His heart was still searching for yours, his eyes wandered everywhere as the crowd of students gathered around him along with the students of the rivals he was competing with. With every passing second, his heart sank even more into his stomach as his tattoo began to glow red against his sweatband, the familiar searing pain gradually increasing as his heartbeat quickened its pace in hopes of searching for your figure waiting for him. 

He showered as quickly as he could before running back to the stadium, going around and asking his classmates and your close friends who came to support the others on your whereabouts. Only to receive the same answer over and over again. Only to receive the same sympathetic expressions as sad shakes of their heads. 

“I haven’t seen her since school ended.”

Nonetheless, Jaemin was too stubborn to go home. He wanted to wait for you. He had hope that you were on your way, he had hope that you would run into the stadium panting and sweating with a cold water bottle in your hand and a comforting smile stretched across your lips. He knew he was getting his hopes up. Why was he getting his hopes up now? Didn’t he tell himself that it was completely okay if you didn’t show up?

He didn’t have any expectations when he arrived but why now? Why did his mind have to build up high expectations and give him hope that you would come to the game right after he said that he didn’t have any hope that you were coming? 

Oh who was he kidding?

He lied. 

He lied to himself. That’s what he wanted to believe, he wants to be okay with the fact that you don’t want anything to do with him anymore. It was completely reasonable for you to do so. But he still couldn’t come to terms with it. He didn’t want to come to terms with it. It hurts when you try so hard not to set high expectations and not give you hope only for you to be disappointed when you realised all this time you were just lying to yourself to make yourself feel better.

“Was this what you had been feeling all this time?” he mumbled to himself, tired half lidded eyes looking down at the phone in his hand. His screen showed a picture you sent of yourself eating pocky sticks a couple months ago with the caption ‘you okay?’ right below it. “Was this what you had to go through countless of times?” He asked, his voice breaking slightly as he felt tears well up in his eyes as the pain in his heart increased tenfold, tightening his grip on his phone.

Jeno had offered him to go for a boys night out as a celebration, but Jaemin kindly declined, briefly saying that he wanted to stay back a bit to look around the stadium for memories sake one last time. But they both knew Jaemin was just saying that so that they could have fun without worrying about him, they knew that Jaemin was going to wait here until the stadium lights went off just for you. Because that’s exactly what you did back then whenever he escaped to go home alone after the game to hang out with his friends without you on his tail.

You waited for him on your regular spot on the bleachers or at the bench so you could offer Jaemin some ice cream to celebrate, oblivious to the fact that he had run off to celebrate with the rest of his teammates. Waiting until the stadium lights had dimmed and until the janitors told you that everyone else had gone home. It hurt to think that this happened throughout all of the games he had in his high school year.

They knew if he didn’t say that, they would’ve stayed to keep him company. But his excuse made them realise that he probably needed some time to process things himself. They could all see the sadness and guilt bubbling up in his pupils as he tried to keep up a strong front. Giving them waves and fist bumps before walking back to the stadium which was almost half empty. 

He stayed on that bench for who knows how long, watching as one by one the stadium started to empty, so did his heart. He watched as the lights began to dim, just like his hopes of ever starting fresh with you. Biting his lip as he scanned the stadium, ignoring sympathetic stares from all his peers and a few of his rivals as he waited for you. He didn’t care about the embarrassment he was enduring, he didn’t care how people were talking about him.

Talking about how he deserved it for treating you like shit. Talking about how he finally got a taste of your own medicine. Talking about how bad he had to be for you, his own soulmate, to ditch him like this. Words hurt. Their words hurt him because he knew it was true. No matter how many times he denied it, it was all true. He did deserve this. He finally got a taste of his own medicine. He deserved to sit here waiting for who knows how long. 

“Was this what you had to endure everyday?” he mumbled to himself, finally letting himself break once the stadium lights had dimmed, signalling that they were going to close the school soon. Slipping his phone back into the pocket of his jacket he raised his left wrist up and gazed down, his glossy, red eyes unwavering at the red glow surrounding the outline of his tattoo. The pain in his heart outweighs the pain in his wrist. The least he could do now is suck it up and bear with it. 

Slowly, he got up from the bench and began walking to the parking lot. The pain in his heart caused his tears to gather in his eyes even more as he walked to his car with hands in his jacket pockets. He pulled out his car keys, pressing the button to unlock it before getting in the driver’s seat, shutting it close behind him with a soft ‘slam’. 

He let out a heavy sigh as he crossed his arms on top of the steering wheel of his vehicle, burying his face into his arms before releasing all of his pent up emotions. Letting his tears flow like a dam being broken down, sobs erupting from his throat as he finally succumbed to the pain in his chest. Digging his fingers into the leather of the steering wheel as he cried his emotions out. The guilt, the sadness, the anger, the self-hatred he had built up for himself finally bursting. 

His heart was crying out for yours. Throughout his whole life, you were always there to comfort him when he was at his worst. Now that you were no longer in his life, he had no one else to hold on to. And it was all his fault. It was his fault for taking you for granted. And now he has to come to terms that he has lost you by his own actions. 

And now he had to bear with the consequences of his actions.

T A G L I S T : @candiednickles @itlittlefangirl @cherrym4rk @gotoartistprofile @d-nghyck @kingjvngins @aconeptun @chaeshii @lixseu @morks-watermelon @12am-musings @cherrystay @lowkeyviv @btm-taeyong @gothmingguk @luvlyjaemin @cowward @smileyyuta @cakelyn @uncovermenow666 @comically-sleep-deprived @wtfhaechan @xcherrybbyx @wishing–butterfly @wordsgodeep @astroboy-lele @sweetmoonlight9 @chwenchew @stuckwithhyuck @yunoelea @angelrenjunie @dae-chan @jenseoull @marklexleaf @yasmini24 @cloudreads @sptegami @mango-bear @dumplingley  @bereavedswallow @etherealbyeol @247byun @42hyuck @lanadreamie​ @nohyuckist

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[liighty]

Guzma babysitting Reader’s Niece

(A/N): BACK ON MY BULLSHIT AGAIN! BUT THIS TIME IT’S NOT ALL THAT SELF-INDULGENT AND MIGHT POSSIBLY BE TURNED INTO A SUPER FIC IF I FEEL LIKE IT

In all honesty i’ve thought about making another largeass super self-indulgent Guzma x Reader mega fic, but I’m not sure if I want to? I don’t know if anybody would read it, so that’s what this post is for!!! If you like this and want to see actual Guzma x Reader with plot and not just fluff drabbles lmk!! I have a bunch of asks to address so maybe i’ll get to that too soon

Anyways, back to the fic.

Mini Summary: (Y/N)’s niece needs to be babysat while (Y/N) is interviewed, so they turn to Guzma and crew to help out for a bit. Chaos ensues.

Rating/Triggers: UH drugs are mentioned but not really? THE KID DOES NOT DO DRUGS!!!! but yeah if that makes you uncomfy i’d be careful with it??\

Pairing: Guzma/Gender Neutral!Reader (I used the honorific ‘Titi’ which is gender neutral for ‘Tia’ or ‘Tio’ [extra thanks to Ocha_Bocha for helping me with that one <3] and tried to make it as gender neutral as possible. Originally this was written with a male reader, and then I went female, and ultimately attempted to eliminate gender completely. [Following the footsteps of Splatoon teehee])

Fic under cut!!!!!

"Are you sure this is a good idea, honey?" You clutch your niece's hand as you approach the large walls that separate Po Town from the rest of Ula'Ula Island. It's not that you don't trust the man who you're leaving her with- in fact, those two have been acquainted previously and seem to get along fairly well- It's his friends who you're concerned about.

"..." Her silence is expected, as the kid isn't all that talkative. Recognizing the young girl's silence, you frown. 

"You can stay in the office lounge if you really want to. I know you aren't the biggest fan of crowds, and um- Guz has some pretty loud friends-" Your explanation of what to be expected is quickly interrupted by a blue haired young man decked in black and white clothing. "Yo yo, what's with the kid?!" 

You arch a brow. You knew that Guzma worked with kids, but this guy couldn't be any older than 15! "I could say the same for you. I'm here to talk to Guzma-"

"Ya mean the boss? Why would some random chick want anything ta do with the leader of the Team Skull, huh?!"

A pink haired girl dressed in the same outfit walks up to the boy, crossing her arms. "Shut it, ya clod. Don't you remember the conversation we had with Boss yesterday?"

Hearing this, the blue haired boy's eyes light up in an epiphany. "Ohhhhh shit- Right-"

"Watch yer fuckin' language around the kiddo." She lightly smacks the back of Dansei's head. "She's in good hands, ma'am."

Another pink haired woman, this one being someone you finally recognize, walks in and smacks both of the delinquents in the head once more. "You say that after cussing, Reese?" 

Thank God. Plumeria. "Hey Plumes-" You smile weakly, waving politely with your free hand. Your niece does the same. Another young man, this one much shorter than the first and with green curly hair scrambles after Plumeria, jumping up and down to be seen. "Sorry about these numskulls. I'll lead y'all to the big boss man, yo. No worries at all, so you can chillax!"

I'm regretting this more and more by the second.

The crew starts whistling some hip hop tune as they make their way to the Shady House, the smaller boy beatboxing. You've taken this time to offer a piggyback ride to your niece, who's politely declined. Are all kids like this? Or is it just her?

Once they approach the boss, Guzma immediately jumps out of his chair, his signature shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "Eyyyyyy! (Y/N)!!! Kiddo!! What's up, homeslice?!" He hops down the stairs and crouches so he can get at eye-level with the young girl, offering his fist for a pound-it.

She bumps her fist against his, smiling just a bit. It's more of a reaction than you expected, at least. "S-sup, Uncle Guzma-" 

Looks like his slang is rubbing off on her. That's cute.

"Thanks for droppin' by, Doll. No need to worry about Little Miss Troublemaker over here, I got it all under control." He picks up your niece and walks over to you, pressing a looooooooongass smooch on your cheek. The other Team Skull members all make mini comments, like "Ewwww-", "Grosss-", and "Cooties-", causing Plumeria to once again smack their heads together. 

You roll your eyes, unable to stop the smirk on your face from growing any further. "Not in front of the kids, Guz." "Ah, right, right- My bad." His shades slide onto his face, hiding the bright red blush that had crept onto his cheeks. "Well, you should probably get goin', ey? The Aether Foundation's one lucky company to have you interviewin' for a position."

"Dork." You boop his nose, then your niece's. "Call me if you need me, okay honey? I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay, Titi (Y/N)-" You smile at the nickname while the others snicker. 'Titi' sounds an awful lot like 'Tittie', and considering three of the 7 people in the room are immature teenagers, there's definitely some laughing going on in the background. Plumeria looks very tired. How does she deal with these kids all the time?

"Alright, I'll be back. Don't light anything on fire, okay?" You yell as you walk off, feeling a slight hint of unease at the idea of leaving your young niece with so many delinquents, even if it's just for a few hours. It'll be fine, though. Guzma's there to keep them from doing anything stupid.

You laugh at the thought. Who am I kidding? He's probably gonna be the one who explodes something first.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The interview itself wasn't all that bad. You're fairly certain that you either aced it or put yourself up for consideration, which in itself helped your confidence just a bit. With the absence of Lusamine and the arrest of several of her chairmen, the foundation was very antsy and in need of someone who could handle the Pokemon Observation department. With your background in medicine and PR, you were rationally on the list of potential replacements, and despite your initial resistance, learning that the company would be run by somebody that WASN'T the manipulative little bitch Lusamine gave you enough comfort to accept the offer for the interview. Was it just an offer or an invitation? You weren't quite sure, but Wick was very insistent on you showing up.

Either way, you're pretty certain you got the job. Good on you. 

You can't help but wonder how your niece is doing, surrounded by so many troublemakers. As you make your way to the entrance of the Shady House, you can hear loud music, causing you to feel a small tint of anxiety. She'll be fine.

You walk up to the door and creak it open, the smell of burnt… whatever the fuck that is flooding your nostrils. Of course. They lit something on fire.

"Guz??" You call out to the empty room. "Plumes? Anybody home?" As expected, there's no response. You start to feel more and more anxious the more ground you start to cover. Where are they? Peeking your head around the corridor, your anxiety comes to its peak when-

"And that's why you should never do drugs, aight?"

H-Huh?

Your niece sits on Guzma's knee as he bounces it up and down, his signature shit-eating grin plastered on his face like usual. Awfully burnt cookies sit on the table, explaining the smell from earlier, and Plumeria seems to be asleep with the other team skull grunts. Are they… napping? Seems like it. 

She nods enthusiastically, taking a bite of a charred cookie and grimacing shortly after, causing the two to both laugh in unison.

"Doesn't matter if it's just for recreational purposes, you could still get hooked, and that's the last thing we want!" Grinning once again, Guzma pokes her forehead.

Hypocrite. You're reminded of the first time you two had kissed, which happened to be shortly after you both had blazed a couple of joints. It's enough to get you laughing, though.

"Huh?! What're you doing here so early? Don't tell me ya flunked THAT bad!" Guzma's eyes widen, a genuine look of bewilderment painted on his face.

"I did not flunk! I think I did great!" You huff, crossing your arms defiantly. "It's suuuuuuuper comforting that you thought I failed, Guz."

"Nononono I was joking!! Right, kiddo??" Your niece quickly nods. "See???? No harm, no foul!"

Arching a brow, you walk up to the two and pick up the young girl. "Mhmmm. Did you have fun, honey?"

She nods again, unable to contain the grin on her face. "Uncle Guzma told me about his Pokemon training! And I got to ride on Golisopod's back!" 

The large bug type pokemon bops up and down upon hearing its name, prompting a smirk from Guzma. "Yeah, I told ya I'd take care of her. She's welcome back anytime, okay?"

"Thanks, Guz." You peck his cheek, and your niece sticks her tongue out, closing her eyes. 

"Icky cooties!!" Where the hell did she hear that? The only people you can think of who'd say such a thing are in the other room snoozing, so- Yeah, actually, you know exactly who taught her that word.

"Well, I'm gonna getchu with my cooties! And my tickles!" You raise a hand menacingly, wiggling your fingers with one eye closed. She immediately curls up, not out of fear, but out of excitement. It's nice to see her so happy again.

After a very long tickle session, you quickly glance at the large grandfather clock, noting the short hand of the clock slowly approaching the number 8. Shit. "We gotta go, kiddo. Your dad isn't gonna be all that happy if we get home any later than 8:30. Besides, it's past your bedtime."

"I bet Uncle Guzma stays up past his bedtime-" She yawns. "Can we stay for a little longer?"

How can I say no to that face? You find yourself incredibly conflicted. Do you tell her you have to leave anyways? Or do you stay and risk getting in trouble by your brother-in-law?

"Eh, as much as I'd love to have you over for longer, kiddo- Look at your Titi (Y/N). They look exhausted."

You smile gratefully at the comment, glad that it doesn't have to be you to tell your niece to go home. "Yeah, I'm beat. We can hang out some other time, okay? I promise." You pat her head and get ready to leave.

"Aww… okay. Bye, Uncle Guzma!! Bye Golisopod!" She holds your hand, and the two of you eventually walk your way back to the car. As you drive away, one thing lingers in your head. You can't think of anything else, in all honesty.

Guzma's great with kids. I should've expected as much, but… I'm glad he gets along with my family.

Your stomach rumbles at the intersection. I'd kill for some malasadas right about now- 

Okay, maybe you CAN think of something else.

[umikawa]

Terrible Things; Sakusa Kiyoomi

Here’s the thing, I have writers block, so sorry if this is Parker circa 2018 writing. But then again, not sorry. Omi is a oblivious and cautious.

Sakusa Kiyoomi x Gn Reader. 1.4k slight angst? Tiny bit of fluff?

Warnings; minor character death, death at birth(mentioned), cursing(1), parent pushing beliefs...? Philophobia in a way.

“Walk away from love Kiyoomi, it always ends. It’s better to stay away from it than deal with the repercussions.”

“But-”

“No buts!”

Five-year-old kiyoomi never really understood why his father had said that to him, he couldn’t ask his mom, she wasn’t around anymore, neither his sister nor brother didn’t seem to want to explain to him- so he was stuck wondering.

He always strayed from friendships, always opting for the empty table in the lunchroom, hiding in the corner of the library with the history books no other kid seemed to touch.

Whether a girl or a boy came up to him, he’d act uninterested in becoming friends because he always assumed that becoming friends would lead to a possible love.

He grew to hate the persistent people, the ones who always pushed themselves onto him in hopes of becoming friends with the lonesome boy.

Four years later when his sister had begun moving out of the house did she finally tell him what his dad meant.

“Omi, do you see this woman?” She asked, pointing at a picture of a tall female, his dad standing beside her. He shakes his head no, he had no idea who she was. “That’s our mom.”

His eyes widen, snatching the picture from her hands to inspect it closely, glancing back and forth between the photo and his sister. “You two look so much alike.” He said.

“You think so?” She smiled, messing with the curls on his head.

“But I don’t understand, where is she?”

His sister had sighed, confusion coursing through his veins when his brother nearly dropped the pan in his hands.

“Omi, mom passed away when you were born.”

Kiyoomi declared that he wouldn’t fall in love for the first time in four years but, this time he meant it.

He sees you all the time around school, talking to everyone so casually and enthusiastically, he decides he hates you before he can get to know you.

You don’t approach him at all and it leaves him accomplished and confused.

Was it that you didn’t like him? You seemed to like everyone, easily striking up a conversation so animatedly because the band kid likes the same show as you. You and him had similar interests… at least that’s what he assumes.

So why was it that you never talked to him and why did it bother him as much as it did?

“Earth to Sakusa.”

He shakes his head, looking at Komori who leaned in front of him to get his attention. “What?”

“Seriously? Dude you’ve been out of it a lot lately, what’s on your mind?” The libero asks, holding his chin in his palm.

He glanced at him, turning his attention back to his food. “It’s nothing.”

Komori sighs, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, if you say so. But if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m always here.”

Komori doesn’t ask again. He wants Kiyoomi to come to him on his own terms, not when he’s pushing for the guy to tell him.

“Hi, Sakusa right?”

He looks up from his science homework, pencil dropping to the floor in a movie esque manner, thudding to the ground in slow motion before you pick it up.

“Yeah, It’s Sakusa.” He answers, looking down at his sheet.

“Um, Do you think you could.. would you want to maybe…” he waits patiently, glancing between you and his worksheet. “I’m sorry, I had something to say but I guess it won’t come out.”

“It’s fine.” You stand still for a second after he replies, turning on your heel to leave before he asks, “Do you feel obligated to talk to me?”

“I’m sorry?”

He sighs, cursing himself for blurting out such a question. “I’ve seen you talk to nearly everyone in this school except for me.” At that, your mouth fell open, unformed sentences spewing from your mouth. “It’s just if you think you need to talk to me you don’t. It’s fine.”

You wave your hands in defense, “no it’s not that it’s just! In elementary you never really showed interest in anything besides maybe volleyball and I didn’t know if we had any of the same interests or not!”

He stills, you were at his elementary this entire time? How could he have not noticed you, even then...did you ever bother to try (and fail) to become his friend? Or was he cast in the dust just like now?

“Oh.”

You sheepishly smiled at him, “I’m sorry if this comes out as rude but, why didn’t you talk to me first instead of vice versa?”

“Ah… well,” he tries to think of an answer other than, “I don’t want to fall in love with you.”

Well if he said that, he wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore

“I don’t know.”

When you smiled at him, he didn’t miss the way his heart skipped a beat, hand coming up to his chest when you walked away.

Shit.

“Oi Oi, Omi what’s with you?”

He looks at his brother, his eyes concentrated on the Mario kart game in front of them. “Huh? Nothing.”

“You sure? I know when my baby brother isn’t okay.” He said, pausing the game to look at him. “Tell your big bro what’s bugging you.”

He covers his face with his hands. “There’s this person at school who recently started talking to me but we always knew who the other was. And they smiled at me and I got this funny feeling in my chest.”

He whips his head in his brother's direction when he hears laughter, face contorting from confusion to disgust at the sight of his brother laughing like a madman, rolling all over the floor.

“Sorry, Omi it’s just!” His sentence is cut off by his obnoxious laughter, kiyoomi glaring at his back as he raised his hand. “Okay, I’ll laugh later it’s just, Omi you’ve got a crush.”

“I have to crush what?”

He blinks when his brother deadpans, pure confusion painted on his face. “You don’t have to crush anything, you bonehead. You have a crush. You like that person you were talking about.”

“But, Dad said I couldn’t-”

“Ah, Kiyoomi, whatever that old man said to you before, it doesn’t matter now. He said that same thing to me and big sis when we were younger, didn’t stop me.” He says, ruffling his hair. “These are your feelings, that old geezer shouldn’t dictate your feelings.”

“But isn’t he looking out for me?”

He clicks his tongue, “yeah, but that’s about it.” He clasped his hand on his shoulder, snapping in front of his eyes. “Listen if you like this person, I say go for it. You’ve got the looks, you’ve got somewhat of a charm, and your personality isn’t that shitty.”

“Gee thanks.”

“I’m trying to help!”

The next two months blew over quickly. Students that passed him in the hall were surprised to see you by his side most of the time, talking so enthusiastically while he listened with a ghost of a smile. They didn’t know if you two were dating or if you’d managed to become his friend but, either way- they didn’t miss the glint in his eyes whenever he saw you.

His father never found out about you, not that it would be any of his business if he did. Kiyoomi felt safe with you. Always finding himself laying his head against your thighs in your room, talking about anything that bothered him.

He sighs when he feels your nails drag against his scalp, rubbing your knee with his thumb. “Hey, (Name)?”

“Yeah, Omi?”

“I like someone.” He says, closing his eyes. “But I’m too scared.”

“Scared of what Omi.” You ask.

He sighs, turning over to look at you. “Scared that one day, I’ll fall in love with them and get heartbroken.”

You never took Kiyoomi to be the type of person to stray from love, you just assumed he kept it lowkey.

“Not every love ends in heartbreak, you know?” You try, biting the inside of your cheek when he tenses. “But… it is always a possibility. Not everyone is cut out from the same cloth, and not everyone will love the same. Some people love more than others, some people less. And you know, some don’t love at all.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” He nods, staring up at you. “I guess I’d say I’m one of the ones who hasn’t truly experienced love enough to have a proper grasp on it. Not opposed to it, but, not in love with it either.”

“(Name)?” You hum, waiting for him to continue. “Do you love me?”

“I do. Do you love me?”

“I do.”

[honeymooneyy]

Valentine’s Day

context: Remus has been out since the beginning of the year, Sirius realized he likes Remus over winter break, it’s now valentine’s day 

James knew it was silly to be upset that Lily had a date for Valentine’s day. 

They weren’t dating - they were barely even friends. But watching Benjy Fenwick give Lily a box of pink chocolates during breakfast pulled at his heartstrings and he couldn’t help but sigh. Remus glanced at him before following his gaze towards Lily who was now laughing at something Benjy said. 

“Lily didn’t say anything to me about liking Benjy, it might just be a date because it’s Valentine’s day,” Remus comforted, bumping his shoulder against James’. “I can ask her about it later?” 

James smiled weakly, “It doesn’t matter, she wouldn’t like me either way.” 

“She’s warming up to you!” Peter weighed in from across the table. “She’s your partner in Potions.” 

“That was in the beginning of the year, not much has happened since.” 

“Maybe next year, mate.” Sirius just shrugged, glancing back at Benjy once more. “I thought he way gay.” 

“Sirius!” Remus hissed, glancing around to see if anyone heard. “You can’t just say that!” 

Sirius turned to him with wide eyes, “But I thought he was! ‘S not a bad thing, I didn’t know he wasn’t.” 

James snorted at their exchange, thankful for their antics as it improved his mood just a touch. Though he had been kidding around, Sirius caught James’ eye in a silent question and he offered him a smile in return. 

And though he tried to convince himself he doesn’t really care that much, James couldn’t help but watch as Lily left the Great Hall, her long red hair swishing with every step she took. Benjy was still next to her, and they seemed to be in some sort of intense conversation, but James decided to ignore him, instead focusing on her bright smile. As long as she was happy. 

Thankfully, Valentine’s day had fallen on a Saturday this year - so James could go to his dorm and not sulk instead of watching couples make out in every class. Deep down, he was glad none of his friends had dates, they could all be lonely together. 

Even though Sirius and Remus had been hopelessly pining, he knew they wouldn’t resort to making out in the dorm, so he was safe. And Peter, he knew he could always count on Peter to be mindful about stuff like that, even if he had no one to kiss. 

He had totally not been moping on his bed after dinner when Peter plopped down on the foot of his bed with a grin. 

When Peter didn’t say anything he asked, “What’s up, Pete?” 

“I know you’re sad, or not sad, or whatever. But that doesn’t mean we have to do nothing today! Remus had an idea, wanna hear it?” Peter asked hopefully, blue eyes twinkling. 

James couldn’t say no to him. “What is it?” 

“So you know that passageway that leads to Honeydukes? We were thinking of sneaking out and getting some fun stuff!” Peter waggled his eyebrows. “Like firewhiskey fun?” 

James brightened at the idea, “I like the direction this is going in. We going now?” 

Peter shrugged, “It only really takes two of us to make the trip. It’s easy for me to sneak in and get what we need, and someone to help carry it back. Remus volunteered.” 

James narrowed his eyes at this, leaning back to rest on his palms. “Why are you even asking me, sounds like you’ve got it all figured out?” 

“We knew you’d agree,” Peter assured, patting his shoulder and scrambling off the bed. “I think Sirius is heading back, we’ll be back soon!” 

True to his word, as Peter left the dorm, Sirius slipped in. In his arms were various different snacks for the night, and James smiled at the sight of his favorites. He helped Sirius lay them out on the floor, almost like a little picnic, sorting them out by each item. 

“Is this all because Lily has a date with someone else? I promise I’m not that hung up over it, we’re barely friends and it’s just a silly crush.” 

Sirius just laughed, tossing his dark hair over his shoulder. “Nah, we wanted to have some fun. Who knows what we’ll be doing for Valentine’s day next year. We ought to spend it with each other while we still can.” 

“And?” 

“Okay, and you looked downright miserable. Merlin, you’re whipped for Lily,” Sirius caved in despite the smile playing at his lips. He went back to arranging the snacks, shaking the hair out of his eyes. 

“Says you,” James prodded back at him. “Oh Moony, I love your vinyls, of course I’ll sing to you.” 

Sirius cheeks burned red at his words, “I thought you were asleep, you wanker. He was sad and tired and in pain, I was being a good friend.” 

“Right, because I sing to you in French when you’re sad?” 

“Why are we talking about me, what happened to Lily? You never had a problem talking about her for hours and hours and hours before.” 

“Exactly, we’ve heard enough about Lily. Anything new about Remus?” James propped up his face on his palm, watching Sirius. 

“I dunno. He’s still gay, I think that’s good,” Sirius started, obviously uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. “He’s not hanging out with a guy for Valentine’s day.” 

“You are so bad at this,” James groans at the lack of juicy information.  

“I’m sorry I don’t want to talk to you about boys!” Sirius exclaims. “Can’t exactly tell you about his looks and stuff.” 

“I have eyes. Remus is attractive,” James nods motivatingly. “C’mon, just tell me, I wanna know.” 

“Fine.” Sirius pauses, collecting his thoughts before chewing on his lower lip. “This is weird, but he’s gotten a lot more attractive since I realized I liked him. Like, he’s always been hot, ugh it’s so weird to say that out loud, but I dunno it’s different now. Maybe he’s always been like this and I just didn’t think about it?” 

“Mmhm.” 

“I noticed he blushes a lot nowadays. I can’t tell if it’s because of me or if it’s just something he always used to do and I didn’t realize,” Sirius murmured before mirroring James and leaning his face against his palms. “It’s really cute though.” 

“He doesn’t blush around me,” James smiled suggestively. “Maybe it’s something he only does around you.” 

Sirius didn’t really know what to say to that and kind of just stared at him before shrugging. “Blushing doesn’t mean he likes me. I mean, in the end, he’s my best friend. Anything I look into could be normal. I mean, you and I sleep in the same bed a lot, so what’s different about Remus and I doing it.” 

“I don’t sing to you in french, and he doesn’t read to me when I can’t sleep,” James reminds him with a pointed stare. 

“Oh my god, back at it with the singing? He said he liked it and it was after the moon, it wasn’t like that.” 

“You were in his bed with him and were singing to him.” James enunciates every word. “Are you blind?” 

Sirius swiped at his glasses, effectively knocking them off his head. “Says you!” 

Huffing, James grabs for his glasses and puts them back on, pushing back his dark hair. “Not fair. That was dirty.” 

“Oh hush, you drama queen.” Sirius rolls his eyes but it’s all in good fun. “Okay, I talked about Remus, now you tell me whatever it is about Lily that’s bugging you.” 

James finally gave in to his best friend. “Okay fine. I thought things were going okay, y’know? Like, she wanted to be my Potions partner at the beginning of the year. And I tried not to be overbearing or anything and I dunno, I thought we were kinda friends? And then she kind of just stopped?”

“Stopped?” 

“Like, she doesn’t ignore me. But she doesn’t seem much interested anymore. In being friends, I gave up on the whole dating thing for now. And then Benjy just comes in and they hit it off like right away. Kind of hurt, I dunno.” 

Sirius ponders what he said, nodding a bit. “I’m not sure, honestly, girls are kind of confusing. Moony’s really good with it, Peter too, his advice is the best. Maybe you can ask them when they’re back? There’s gotta be a reason, I don’t think she’d just shut you out for no reason.” 

“I guess,” James agrees, but he doubts they can say anything to make this situation better. Either way she doesn’t want to be his friend. 

Remus and Peter worked fast, because soon enough they were back with armfuls of drinks. Not all of them were alcohol, and James spotted a couple butterbeers in the mix. The weirdest though was this bright pink bottle Remus had tucked in the fold of his arm. 

“Did you get a love potion?” Sirius questioned, jumping to his feet to inspect the bottle. 

“No, it’s just a normal drink.” 

“But it’s pink!” Peter chipped in, enthusiastically. “Isn’t the bottle cool?” 

James smiled at his excitement, “Yeah, it’s cool, Pete.” 

Soon enough they had all sorted out the drinks and food and were lounging about the floor. A game of truth or dare had started up only to be shot down because there wasn’t much the boys wanted to know about one another for the truths. This time, there was more than one bottle of firewhiskey so the boys each had one, and it was working wonders. 

Peter had been telling some story when he ended up mentioning Lily, before turning to James with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, mate.” 

“You guys are horrible,” James groaned. “Acting like we just got divorced or something. I’m fine!” 

Remus shrugged, “It’s okay not to be fine. You’ve liked her forever, it hurts.” 

James felt as if he wasn’t just talking about Lily but didn’t say much about it. Instead he spilled the thought that’s nagging at him for the past couple days. 

“Do you think it’s because I’m-” James gestured to his face. 

The boys exchanged looks, ones filled with clear confusion. 

“You’re not ugly,” Peter finally spoke up, though his statement sounded more like a question.” 

“No, I know I’m not ugly,” James blew a breath out, dropping his head back against the footboard of the bed he was leaning against. “I meant that I’m not white.” 

A hush fell over the group at his words.

“I’m not saying she’s racist, or something,” James rushed to add in. “But I dunno, sometimes I think she’d give me a chance if I wasn’t brown.” 

“I don’t think it’s your race, more you being a prat,” Remus assured him. “I don’t think Lily cares about that sort of stuff.” 

James’ voice seemed small when he spoke, “Every guy she’s ever liked or been with was white. It doesn’t matter how attractive I am.” 

Sirius had scooted over next to him and threw an arm over his shoulder, squeezing his arm. “I think you’re overthinking this a bit. I mean, Mary’s black and they’re friends!” 

“Yeah, well she’s not going to date Mary, is she?” James shrugged off Sirius’ arm. “I’m not overthinking this. Tons of people don’t like people like me, it’s just a fact. I can’t ignore it.” 

Peter who had been quiet this whole time finally spoke up. “If she doesn’t like you because of your skin color, then you’re not missing out. Lily’s awesome, but she doesn’t deserve you, if that’s why.”

“See! Peter always has good advice about stuff like this!” Sirius points out, bumping his shoulder against James’. 

“I guess.” James just shrugged, eager to change the subject. “Anything new with you, Peter?” 

He began another story about something he overheard some fourth years talking about, and while James tried his hardest to listen, the alcohol and time weren’t on his side. At first, he decided that lying down and listening to Peter might make it easier, but it did the opposite. WIthin minutes his eyes had slid shut, face nestled in the crook of his arm. 

“Did he just fall asleep in the middle of my story?” Peter asked, thoroughly baffled. He leaned forward and was about to prod his forehead when Remus smacked his hand away. 

“Let him be. He’s having his own problems, let him sleep.” 

Peter agreed wordlessly, and Sirius scooted further away to not wake him up while talking. 

“Remus, you got an eye on anyone?” Peter asked, turning his attention towards him. “I haven’t heard you mention anyone.” 

Remus just shrugged wordlessly, and Sirius scanned his face for any signs of him lying. 

“No one?” Sirius questioned, his eyes zeroing in on the way Remus was fidgeting with the edge of his sweater. 

“Nah, no one. I promise,” Remus assured, raising his eyes to Sirius’. Sirius didn’t pull his away, silently challenging him. They stared for a solid thirty seconds before Remus broke it off, instead glancing at Peter. 

“What about you Peter? How’s your love life going?” 

Sirius tried his best to look at Peter but everytime he closed his eyes he could envision Remus’ warm eyes boring into his one, an eyebrow raised challengingly. Drunk Remus had a lot more confidence than sober Remus. As Peter began talking, Remus shimmied around before ending up lying on the floor with an arm behind his head, eyes trained on Peter. 

“Sometimes, I think I’ll never get my first kiss,” Peter sighed, pursing his lips. “It’s already fifth year, and I’ve never kissed anyone. I feel like it’s even more embarrassing the longer I go without it.” 

“James didn’t kiss anyone till Halloween,” Sirius supplied, trying to comfort him but it had no effect. “I don’t think it matters.” 

“But he kissed someone! What if I never kiss anyone, ever?” Peter covered his face with his hands with a groan. “I’m going to be seventy and still waiting for my first kiss.” 

“I’ll kiss you,” Remus offered nonchalantly, sitting up. “I’m good at kissing.” 

Peter’s eyes widened and he shook his head furiously, “N-no. Gay people are cool and all, but I’m not gay. No offense.” 

Remus snorted at the fact that he was apologizing for being straight. “Kissing a boy doesn’t make you gay. Think of it as practice so you don’t embarrass yourself when you kiss a girl you like.” 

Sirius looked between the two of them incredulously, “Peter, you’re not actually considering this are you?” 

Peter chewed on his bottom lip, contemplating it. “Er, I mean, it would be fast right? And no one would really know…” 

“That’s the spirit!” Remus grinned, seeming way too happy to help. He sat up properly, shifting around to perch on his heels. 

“No tongue, okay?” Peter looked awfully scared, but he crawled closer to Remus. “And do it really fast.” 

“Quit acting like you’re getting a shot,” Remus rolled his eyes before leaning in to place his lips on Peter’s. 

Remus didn’t touch Peter’s face or anything, but he did put a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. He didn’t use tongue, but it definitely wasn’t a quick kiss. Sirius hated the way he couldn’t look away from the two of them, and honestly wasn’t quite sure what to feel - on one hand, it was the hottest thing he’s ever seen, on the other hand, he wished it was him who Remus was kissing. 

When Remus pulled away, he was smirking, looking very proud of himself. Peter was bright red and he leaned back with wide eyes, before returning back to his spot on the floor. He rubbed his lips against each other before shooting Remus a scared look again.

“I think some of his gay rubbed off on me,” Peter whispered, a blush still painting his cheeks. 

Even Sirius had to laugh at this. 

“What, was it that good?” Remus quirked an eyebrow, and his whole composure about it was so attractive - the way he had been so confident about his skills and how he had taken charge and, Merlin, the way he smirked afterward. Sirius couldn’t pull his eyes away, and then Remus was turning to look at him, catching his gaze. “You want one too?” 

Sirius immediately shook his head, cheeks heating up. “I’m good.” 

“Suit yourself. See, Pete, am I not a good kisser?” Remus turned his attention back to Peter who wasn’t quite as red anymore. 

“Well, I have nothing to compare it to,” Peter began but at Remus’ glare he shook his head, “Er, yeah. You are.” 

Remus grinned triumphantly, lying down on his back again with his hands crossed behind his head. The position flexed his arms and Sirius was once again staring. He knew he was being painfully obvious, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Remus was so attractive he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t do this. 

Peter broke the silence, “I think I’m going to bed. Should we just leave James there?” 

The three glanced at James who was sprawled on the floor snoring. 

“Yeah, I don’t wanna carry him into his bed,” Sirius decided, leaning over to pluck James’ glasses off his face. He folded them up and set them on the nearest table. 

“Cool, night guys,” Peter mumbled, stumbling over to his bed and shutting the curtains as the boys echoed him.

Remus made no move to get up so Sirius nudged his leg with his foot. When he didn’t reply, Sirius crawled over to his side, “Hellooo.” 

This time Remus just hummed sleepily so Sirius layed down onto the floor next to him, stretching out to stretch a bit. The plush carpet of the floor welcomed Sirius and he let out a content sigh at how comfortable the position was, no wonder Remus didn’t want to get up. Barely a minute passed before he grew bored, and turned on his side to face Remus, propping up his head on his hand. His dark hair fell into his eyes and he wrinkled his nose at it, as if it would help. 

“Stop staring at me,” Remus mumbled without opening an eye. 

Sirius scowled at this. “You can’t even see me. How do you know if I’m staring or not?” 

“Magic.” 

“Oh, shove off,” Sirius groaned, smacking Remus’ shoulder causing him to laugh. 

His laugh was soft as to not wake up the others, including James who was barely feet away from them, but was still joyful and it made Sirius smile. Remus’ face relaxed as he quieted down and he looked so utterly content that Sirius wished he could take a photo. It wasn’t often that he got to witness Remus so carefree and just simply existing, and Sirius reveled in it. 

“You’re still staring,” Remus reminded, a cocky smile pulling at his lips that made Sirius’ stomach flip. “Something on my face?” 

Sirius couldn’t be bothered to deny it, instead he brushed a finger against Remus’ cheekbone. “Freckles.” 

Usually Remus’ freckles faded as the cold crept in and would’ve been long gone by a normal February. Yet somehow, they had reappeared, lighter than in summer but still present, dusting his cheeks and nose. 

Remus hummed, “We took a trip to Spain over winter break and I found a spell to stop the fading.” 

At his words Sirius realized that he hadn’t been this close to Remus since long before winter break and that it had taken him a month and half to notice. Despite the fact that it took him so long, he loved them. Remus’ freckles were one of his favorite features about him, and to have them all year long made his smile grow. 

“They’re like constellations,” Sirius mused, letting his finger drift from Remus’ nose to his temple. Though the effects of the firewhiskey were fading, it still gave him a small confidence boost to even think of reaching out and touching Remus like that. He knew that Remus wouldn’t be so willing to be studied if it wasn’t for the alcohol. 

“See yourself?” Remus still had his eyes shut and the dull lighting of the room cast shadows of his eyelashes onto his cheekbones. 

Sirius squinted his eyes at the freckles, mentally going through every constellation he knew. He finally arrived at one and traced it out, “There’s Cepheus.” 

Remus didn’t flinch back but his eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Sirius, pupils blown out to adjust to the lack of light. Sirius realized with a start that his finger was absentmindedly tracing Remus’ face still and retracted his hand sheepishly. 

“Er, I should get to bed.” Sirius stood abruptly, turning towards his bed to avoid Remus’ eyes. “Night.” 

He had just sat down onto his bed and was about to pull the curtains shut when Remus called out his name, having stood up from the floor and hovering near his own bed. But when Sirius turned his questioning stare towards Remus he just swallowed. 

“Never mind. Goodnight.” 

The exchange was weird and Sirius wanted to ask what he was going to say but decided against it. Something about Remus’ gaze was unnerving, he seemed almost scared? 

What could Remus possibly be scared of?

[crescentsteel]

Keeping a Secret - Prologue

plot: ehehe lemme leave this blank for now as this is only a prologue genre: fluff, crack, slow burn, eventual smut, sexual tension, angst at some point wc: 2.7k

[a/n]

I am reeling just from finishing this one because Tsukki is my boy (Kuroo ily too i swear)

Who writes 2.7k words of prologue? lol me

I’ll set up the masterlist when I’m done with the 1st Chapter.

Thank you so much @oii-sugasan​ and @haikyuu-is-for-lovers​ for the betaread! :)

Let me know if you wanna be tagged

Chapter 1 || masterlist

You aren’t just annoying. You’re a fucking menace. Every time he goes to the gym, your presence is like a plague. You're just a manager, but sometimes he thinks that you think you’re the assistant coach. There’s nothing he’d love more than to shower you with the nastiest, most off-handed comments, just to shut you up and wipe the cheery grin that taunts him every time he sees you. 

Seriously, you’re all over the place -- you talk to all members of the team as if you’re a player yourself, you nag everyone to take care of themselves outside training like you’re their older sister, you hand out self-gathered information on upcoming matches as soon as matchups are announced, you scamper around the gym tossing balls, assembling the net, doing whatever the hell you can get your hands on, all the while wearing those stupid shorts that distract the majority of the team, especially the new members. 

As his eyes follow you, you suddenly turn around to face him, breaking him from his reverie. Even when you’re halfway across the gymnasium, he can see the sharp playfulness that you always exude whenever you talk to him. 

“Tsukishima!” You wave at him with that disgustingly sweet grin. “If you’re done staring at my sexy back, you can start your blocking drills, okay?!” you shout with a voice loud enough for everyone else in the gym to hear.  Tsukishima feels multiple sets of eyes glance towards his direction and he ‘tsks’ in annoyance under his breath.

He immediately walks away. He refuses to hear more of the unnecessary and untrue prattles directed at him by you.  

He hears footsteps follow him. Judging from its pace and heavy strides, he already knows its Kogane without even looking

“Oi, Tsukki. Do you like our manager?”

He doesn’t understand why Kogane is whispering when you’re half a court away from them. More than that, he doesn’t understand why Kogane assumes he likes you. For one, you were wrong: he wasn’t even staring at you. He was staring randomly at nothing while thinking  about how irritating you are and you just happened to be at his line of sight. 

“I don’t see anything to like about her,” he replies passively. 

“What? Why? She’s super helpful -- and pretty too.” Kogane, just like the rest of the team, believes so. Even Kyoutani is fond of you because of that one time you received his spike on full force. You rolled on your back from the sheer power of it but you were able to receive it perfectly, making the whole team go wild when you did, with him as the only exception as he found it inane. 

“If you think so, go confess or something then.” 

“You know we can’t!” Pink stains begin to surface on his teammate’s cheeks, obviously infatuated with you. Then again, this is not new to him. It was a basic reaction from anyone whose dick is more functional than their brain.  Maybe it’s because you’re the only female so close to everyone else. Honestly, he really doesn’t know. But one thing’s for sure. Kogane has 0 chances with you, and neither does every player of Sendai Frogs. 

He remembers the conceitedness you displayed even in your first year as a manager. You two became part of the team almost at the same time. He was two months in when the former manager introduced you to the team. As she finished introducing you, you whispered to her to add something. It went something like ‘oh, umm. y/n-chan also said that no one from the team can’t date her.’ Even the former manager looked at you weirdly but you were just there beaming as you bowed to everybody. 

They thought it was a joke, but when you became a full-pledged manager in less than six months, you announced it yourself. 

‘I know I’m kind of cute, but I won’t ever consider dating anyone from the team. Okay?’

You announce it with a sickening smile every time there are new members, reminding everyone else that you’re untouchable. 

It’s fucking atrocious, to him at least. Unlike the other players from his team, he’s not shallow enough to fancy you just because you’re not disgusting to look at, or that you did your managerial duties so exceedingly well.

He grits his teeth. He hates it. How can someone so chaotic as you be so effective in managing the team. What grinds him even more is that you go to the same university he does, and even there, your presence stinks. He once had a class with you only to find out that you’re not as dumb as you make yourself out to be. 

It’s infuriating. He can’t wait for the day you mess up -- only then would he finally get the chance to diss you. He’ll turn that shit-eating smile of yours upside down. 

--

Man, nothing boosts your mood better than bugging Tsukishima. When you felt his sinister stare boring at your back earlier, you just couldn’t waste the opportunity to say something about it. He just ignored you, but the scowl on his face was enough response to satisfy you. 

The truth is, you have nothing against Tsukishima. Yeah, he has a sharp tongue and a vile attitude, but hey, he’s a good team player. He doesn’t speak much, but he gets shit done in matches. Despite his foul personality, he’s actually manageable: he listens to you and he rarely shows up late. He’s not particularly motivating to look at, but he still does what’s asked of him. For some reason that you don’t know, he still hasn’t spat out his usual, rancid remarks towards you. You know he’s itching to, and honestly, you’re kind of curious of what he’ll throw your way. 

Still, for the last three years he kept his mouth shut even though he looks at you like you’re the most unpleasant being he’s ever laid eyes on. 

“Y/n!”

You jog towards the team coach, Coach Mira. “Yes, Coach?”

“Do you like Tsukishima?” she asks curiously. The question is funny to you but you hold back the laughter and smile instead.

You like Coach Mira a lot. She’s more like an older sister than a coach to you. You’re free to share a few laughs with her, and she values your input to the team. Maybe it’s because you’re both women drowned in a sea of male athletes that you sort of have that innate connection. 

“No, Coach. Why?”

“Cause you pay attention to him the most.”

“I don’t see what’s to like about him,” you veer your gaze towards his direction, watching his scowling face as he walks away, Koganegawa following closely behind him. You can’t hear them, but the sight is already amusing as it is. “I just like putting him in place whenever he’s being extra nasty,” you add. 

“If you say so, y/n. Honestly, I don’t really care if you go out with one of them.” 

You wave your hand back and forth like you’re swatting a fly. “No way, Coach. They’re like little boys I’m taking care of.”

She sweeps her gaze behind you, scanning all the players present in the court. “Can’t say they feel the same way though.” Then she looks at the same person you’re looking at. “Well, maybe except for Tsukishima.”

“That’s why I like messing around with him the most,” you admit with mirth as you watch Tsukishima get away from Kogane.

--

Everyone in the gymnasium is staring as they enter the arena. If there’s one thing opposing teams remember about the Sendai Frogs, it’s their female tandem of a stone-cold coach and a ‘hot,’ bubbly manager who walk side by side in front of the whole team, not the players.

It’s not really an issue for Tsukishima. He doesn’t really care. Shimizu had the same reputation back in high school. But you? You’re not Shimizu. You aren’t even close.

And you, being the chaotic mess that you are, you milked the attention. Whenever someone blatantly gapes at you,  you’d wave at them. You’d even entertain those who openly flirted with you. In retrospect, he should find it despicable. Rather finds it entertaining. So does the rest of the team.

When the Sendai Frogs reach their spot, a guy wearing a Tamaden Elephants jersey approaches you shamelessly. A brave (maybe a little bit foolish) act, considering you’re with the whole team.

“Hi!”

You turn around and greet him just as enthusiastically, maybe even more.

“I just want to say, great game from last season, he says as he scratches the back of his head. 

Liar. 

If the guy really wants to acknowledge the team’s play from last season, he’d approach one of the players. He also wouldn’t have that stupid blush on his awe-struck face. 

“Thank you! Great game indeed,” you return the compliment.

As soon as the guy starts fidgeting, Tsukishima can already guess what comes next: it’s either a date or your number.

“If you don’t mind, can I get your number?”

Tsukishima sneers at how predictable the scene is, and he can’t wait to see what comes next.

You beam at the guy. “Sure! It’s number 1.”

He still smiles even though he’s obviously dumb-founded. “Sorry, what?”

“My number, right? It’s 1. Cause we’re number 1 in the district,” You say with that fake innocence that isn’t really fooling anyone.

“...Uhh.”

“Go Sendai Frogs!” You cheer out of the blue and as if an automated response, the rest of the team, even Tsukishima (though lifelessly), answers.

“Sendai Frogs fight!”

The loud baritone of deep male voices drew the attention of other people in the area, brightening your face up even more as you focus on the guy in front of you again. He looks scandalized by what just happened. 

“How about you? What’s your number?” you ask, pushing the guy to a mental corner as Tsukishima and his team glares at him while waiting for how he’ll answer. An embarrassed blush replaces the previously infatuated one as he realizes that he shouldn’t have made the mistake of hitting on you. 

“I-I’m not really sure,” his voice loses any shred of confidence it once had.

“Oh. That’s too bad,” you feign sympathy. 

“Yeah.” The guy looks down. “Guess I’ll see you around,” he adds before retreating defeatedly.

“Bye! Nice to meet you,” you wave cordially. ‘Whoever you are, newbie elephant,’ you say to yourself as you watch the unfamiliar member of the Elephants go back to his team, a team you wiped the floor with last season.

Until now, you don’t understand why people still even bother. You welcomed the flirtations, but never really went out with anybody. You’re not really opposed to getting in a relationship, but like -- Gooood! They’re all so uninteresting. Rejecting them is more fun than the mere prospect of dating them.

You feel a familiar touch on your shoulder. 

“Good job boosting the team morale,” Coach Mari says in a volume that only you can hear as she pats you.

“Thanks, Coach!” You grin at her praise. 

You turn around to check your players and your eyes instantly land on Tsukishima who had just put on his white headphones and began scrolling at his phone. Around him, everyone else has already started stretching. 

You bounce your way to him, knowing that you’d instantly get his attention even without saying anything. But even with you ogling when you stopped in front of him, he still doesn’t budge.

“Tsukishima.”

No response.

‘Heh,’ you snicker internally. He never fails to amuse you when he tries to ignore you. 

“Tsu~ ki~ shi~ ma~” You bob your head sideways, popping at the opposing sides of his phone so he’ll notice you.

You don’t miss the minute twitch of his eyes as he drags his phone closer to him in an attempt to shut you out. 

Tsk tsk. He should know better by now that you're not the type to back away. 

You go beside him instead, tiptoeing so you can see what he’s so busy looking at. As soon as your arms touch his, he puts down his phone and irritatedly removes his headphones. 

He’s shooting daggers at you, making you giddy with excitement as he looks like he’s about to say something you. You hold his gaze with a raised eyebrow and subtle smirk that you couldn’t suppress. Did he get fed up already? Is he finally going to say something?

‘Do it. Do it. Do it,’ you chant in your head. 

He takes in a painful deep breath instead. “What?” The single word contains so much disdain that you want to cackle so bad. 

“Shouldn’t you be stretching?” you query.

“In a bit.”

You leisurely shake your head with disapproval. “I know you’re a lazy ass fucker sometimes,” you begin. “But you always help us win. You’re our meanest, tallest, best blocker.” Your gaze drops down to his ankles and travels up.

“So,” you continue, dropping your voice amusedly, “stretch those gorgeous, God-given, legs you have.” Your eyes linger on his thighs before landing up to his face to smile sweetly at him. “Will you?”

This is one of the moments you’re pretty sure he won’t dare talk back at you. Why? Because you’re one hundred percent right, and he knows that too. 

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hate it.

He glares at you for one second and walks towards the rest of the team to join them. 

--

Playing at the professional level, he always considers one match to be a big win already, even if it’s just the first match of the regular rounds. Ever since he became a starter for Sendai Frogs, he was not allowed to slack off even for one rally. He could take the lecture if it’s from Coach, but he couldn’t stomach it if it’s from you. 

Even before the match started, you were already on his grill, pestering him just because he wasn’t warming up yet. He was pissed the whole game and put extra effort than usual to make sure that you won’t have anything to say after. 

“Um, excuse me.” A girl from Red Rabbits blocks him on his way to the restroom. “Tsukishima, right?”

He can tell that she is trying her best to look nonchalant, but the familiar tint on her face is telling.

Tsukishima had never understood girls who approach him for anything remotely romantic. Does he look like he’s interested? It’s not that he’s not open to the idea of dating, but he finds it unpleasant when people go after him because they like how he plays. Worse, for some obtuse reason like him being ‘cute.’

“Yes. Why?”

She smiles at him bashfully with her arms crossed behind her. “I’m also a middle blocker. I was really inspired with how you read block so well. If it’s okay with you, can you teach me how you do it?”

Why would he do that? He’s already a senior college student who’s also a professional athlete. He has no reason to go out of his way to teach someone read blocking. Especially someone who’s already supposed to know it since (as she claims) she’s also a middle blocker. Judging from where they currently are, someone from Division 1 no less. 

“Sorry. I’m really busy,” he says bluntly. 

“Oh, okay. Sorry for bothering you.” She bows then takes off immediately. 

He watches as the girl from Red Rabbits scampers off as quickly as humanly possible. Did she really think he’d agree to it?

He is too occupied to notice the faint sound of footsteps behind him, and only when you speak does he notice your presence.

“Aww, poor girl going out of her way to ask you out.” 

He groans. Why are you even here? You’re supposed to be checking on the team since their match just ended.

You fall into step beside him as he brushes your comment off and continues heading for the rest rooms.

“I didn’t ask her to,” he calmly responds despite your irksome presence. 

“How are you going to get a girlfriend like that?” you ask exaggeratedly as if not getting in a relationship will lead to his ruin.

“I don’t need one.”

You gasp. “Damn, Tsukishima. Men your age are all about raging hormones. Where do you put all that raging testosterone?”

He purses his lips in a corner, his jaw tensing at your remark. Men his age? You talk as if you’re older when you’re in the same year he is.

Also, what the fuck?

Now you’re nagging about his personal life too? You’re already aggravating as the team manager. Now you’re even sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.

His blatant irritation must have shown in his face because you suddenly let out a giggle. “My bad, my bad. Don’t look so scary. Geez. Where you get action is none of my business. I just followed you to let you know that we’re leaving in twenty minutes.”

You turn around, about to go back but stop before you make the first step. “Oh, and we have a meeting later. I did the stat sheets of the game and gave it to the coach already. Great blocking, Tsukishima!” You pat his shoulder twice with a proud smile, then saunter off back to the arena. 

Damn it. If only you aren’t so good at being a manager, he would actually be able to dislike you to the fullest. Not only that, he wouldn’t feel that silly, tiny contentment he felt upon hearing you.

Chapter 1 || masterlist

Taglist:(those crossed out can’t be tagged)

@ameliaxo @suikrem​​ @akaashisslave @tsumurai​​  @babythotshq​​ 

[mochegato]

Hope on Board

Chapter 15 – Ready or Not, Forward We Go

Chapter 1     Chapter 14

There was a voice humming. That was the first confused thought that appeared in her mind.  Did they leave the television on last night?  She looked over to the other side of the bed and frowned finding it empty. She could smell food cooking… but she was in bed so it wasn’t her… Did Dick have someone over?  Give her a second, she could figure this out, she just needed to start thinking… and eating.  

She walked over to Dick’s dresser and grabbed one of his larger shirts, throwing it on.  She pulled the collar up to smell it and gave a contented sigh.  It smelled like him.  She was really going to have to talk to him about getting a drawer here or something. Although when the babies come he was probably going to be spending time at her place instead… if that’s what they were doing.  Is that what they were doing?  That was a question for future Marinette and Dick.  Present Marinette and babies needed food.

She walked out into the living area and paused to observe him.  He was standing in front of the stove in sweatpants and a tight shirt. The pants were fairly loose but tight enough to show off his muscular behind.  She bit her lip in appreciation at the sight before her eyes wandered up to his back.  His shirt was tight enough that she could see his muscles moving with each subtle movement he made cooking the food.  She still couldn’t believe she’d gotten lucky enough to have attracted his attention, but she felt like the luckiest person that she did.  Despite the fact that he was currently humming what appeared to be circus songs.

She padded over and wrapped her arms around him, careful to miss the bruises she knew he still had from whatever altercation he had on his last trip for work a few days ago.  She poked her head around his side to see how his first attempt at cooking solo was going, silently cursing how tall he was or maybe how short she was which meant she couldn’t just look over his shoulder. She gently kissed the dressing on his bicep before looking up at him with a warm smile.  “Morning, Bluebird.”

Dick froze for a moment. He smiled down at her innocently.  “Bluebird?”

She shrugged moving to lean against the counter next to him.  “You called the twins Little Birds.  Can’t call you Big Bird, for obvious reasons.  You wear blue a lot.” She motioned to his shirt.  “Beautiful blue eyes…” she motioned to his eyes.  “Bluebird.”

He leaned down to give her a kiss.  “Now I just need to figure out a nick name for you.  Something that captures how beautiful and brave and brilliant you are.”

He grinned proudly as Marinette flushed deeply and looked away.  “So, showing off by making breakfast?”

He chuckled at her change of subject.  “I thought I’d try scrambled eggs.  It looked pretty easy.  I mean you start by mixing up the eggs.  And pastries from the bakery down the street.  Easy breakfast.”

Marinette nodded. “Looks tasty.  And I’m starving so,” she popped a ripped off corner of croissant into her mouth and hummed in appreciation, “it looks amazing to me.” She looked longingly at the counter space next to him for a few seconds.  “If I ask you to help me up on the counter, will you make fun of me?”

Dick chuckled and helped her onto the counter next to where he was cooking.  “Probably,” he shrugged.  He grabbed a plate and scooped half the eggs onto it, handing one plate to Marinette.  He scooped the other half on his plate and leaned against the counter on the other side of her.  Marinette took a quick bite and her eyes suddenly bugged out.  Dick cringed and looked down at his own eggs questioningly. “That bad, huh?”

“Give me your hand,” she said quickly.  He hesitantly placed his hand in hers, fully expecting her to rap his knuckles for screwing up scrambled eggs.  Instead she placed it flat against her belly.  

He held his hand there unmoving for a few moments until he felt it, a sharp pressure against his hand. “Is that…” he looked up at her with an awed look.

Marinette bit her lip and nodded excitedly.  “Oh,” she grabbed his other hand and placed it against the other side of her belly, “I think the whole family wanted to show off.”

Dick looked up at her with a sappy grin on his face before looking back at her belly.  “Hey guys,” he said quietly.  “Can’t wait to meet you.”  He waited to see if they would repeat it, but after a few minutes of nothing, he took his hands away, his smile still on his face.  He’d felt his babies.  He’d been there for it.  The thought of missing it was terrifying to him.  He looked over to Marinette and leaned against the counter.  “Been thinking…” he started slowly.

“Before breakfast?  So early.”  She shook her head in mock revulsion.  “Must be important.”

“I think so.  I’ve been thinking about the future.  I’m trying to picture raising the twins,” he started carefully.  Marinette suddenly sobered, the teasing look on her face abandoned.  She rested her fork on her plate and waited for him to continue.  “I don’t want to just see them sometimes.  I want to be there for it all.  I want to be there when they’re up all night and when they’re playing together and when they’re sleeping.  I don’t want to miss it because I’m halfway across the city.”

Marinette nodded along with his words.  “I’ve been thinking about that too.  Adrien offered to help me when he could, but it’s not fair to him and… he’s not the father. He’s not you.  I want to go through this with you.” Her voice was cautious but hopeful.

Dick’s smile widened excitedly, encouraged that she had been thinking along the same lines as him.  He set his plate down and moved so he was positioned between her legs.  He ran his hands up and down her thighs.  “My lease is up next month and I thought maybe we could look for a new place… together. A place for us and the twins so we could both raise them.  I know it’s a big step and we might not be ready for it so I was thinking maybe we could get a three bedroom place, so we both have our own space.  I mean, I know you already basically live here but…”

Marinette bit her lower lip and looked at him apprehensively.  “That does seem to be the best for the twins.  I don’t want to do this without you.  And I don’t want you to miss any of it, to feel disconnected.  I don’t want to have to make decisions without you or for you to find out later because you weren’t there when it happened, but… I don’t want to screw this up either.  I don’t want to move so fast we do something we aren’t ready for and end up ruining our relationship.  I’m terrified I’m going to do something to screw up their lives before they’re even born.”

Dick nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly!  I love spending time with you.  When I picture my future, you’re always there, you and the twins, but I know it is really early for it.  But…”

“But it objectively makes sense,” she finished for him.

“Yeah.”

Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck as an excited look overcame her.  “So, we’re doing this.  We’re moving in with each other.”

“Yes, I guess we are,” Dick laughed.  “Although, I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss seeing you in my shirts.”  He ran his hands along her sides, pretending to focus on his shirt rather than feeling the way her body curved and moved along with his hands.

“That’s cute.  You think I’m going to stop stealing your shirts just because I don’t have to.  I consider easy access to your shirts as one of the perks of this arrangement,” she smirked at him.

“Oh?”

“Yep.  Free shirts and daily breakfasts.  That’s what sealed the deal for me,” she grinned at him as she grabbed a forkful of eggs.

Dick cringed.  “I don’t know if I can make daily a part of the deal.”

Marinette gave an exaggerated gasp.  “What? I was under the impression that was part of the arrangement.  If it isn’t we may have to renegotiate.”

Dick smirked and moved closer to her, giving her a seductive look.  “I’m willing to offer other perks.”

Marinette raised an interested eyebrow.  “Oh? Do tell.”

Dick leaned down to kiss along her jaw and neck.  “Convinced?” he asked huskily, pulling her hips closer to his.

Marinette hummed in agreement.  “I think I can work with this.”

Dick chuckled and pulled away to take a bite of eggs, giving her a scrutinizing look.  “And just what exactly are you bringing to this arrangement?”

She pretended to think about it for a few moments, leaning back to dramatically tap her chin.  “A constant supply of cookies, the fruits of my frequent stress baking sessions, and a whole new wardrobe.”

“I like my wardrobe,” he pouted at her.

“I’m pretty partial to your wardrobe too, especially your shirts like this.” She bit her lip as she ran her hands over his chest and ab muscles, accentuated by his tight shirt.

He hummed leaning closer to her.  “I like seeing you in them better… or out of them.”

Marinette raised her eyebrow at him, leaning away from him tauntingly as he leaned closer.  She grabbed his biceps for stability when she had leaned back too far.  He suppressed a groan at the pressure on one of his worse injuries, but couldn’t hide the wince on his face.  Marinette immediately dropped her hands and started fretting over him.  “I’m so sorry.  I got caught up and forgot for a second.  Are you okay?  Do you need ice?”

Dick backed away slightly and moved his arm back and forth a bit.  “It’s okay.  I’m okay. I’m more upset our moment got interrupted.”  He gave her a roguish smile and moved back to his spot between her legs.  

Marinette cupped his face with a concerned look.  “Does this happen often?  I thought you just kind of sat in an office and coordinated security procedures and technology.  I didn’t realize you were out fighting.”

Dick sighed and fought the grimace that wanted to settle on his face.  He was really hoping he had diverted her enough last night and this morning to avoid this conversation, but no matter what, she kept returning to it. The benefit and drawback of having someone care about you.  “I usually am.  This time I was out in the field when one of the warehouses was hit.”  Not exactly a lie.  He was in the Batcave or in the Titans base investigating and researching frequently.  And it was a warehouse that was hit, just not a WE warehouse.

“Oh my God, Dick!”

“It’s okay.  I know how to protect myself and had good people around me.  We took care of it.  We got away pretty scot-free.  I actually got the worst of it,” he tried to make his voice as soothing as possible.

“Dick, it’s not okay. You got hurt.” She rubbed her hands over his jaw looking at him with worried, anguished eyes.

“I know,” he kissed her forehead.  “But it’s part of the job.  It’s a risk I know I’m taking and I’m really well trained for it.”

Marinette nodded and gave him a reluctant smile.  “I don’t have to like it though.  I hate seeing you hurt.  I hate seeing you suffering.”  She burrowed into his chest

Dick couldn’t stop the smile that spread on his lips from hearing how heartfelt her concern was.  This felt nice.  Having her worry about him felt nice.  Having her worry about him felt nice. Knowing he was on her mind and that he took up that much of her focus felt right.  He couldn’t wait to start living with her, to have moments like this constantly.  He couldn’t wait for them to become more.  “I can think of something that might make me feel better,” he said coyly.

Marinette pulled away to give him a suspicious look but played along.  “And what’s that?”

“If someone were to kiss it and make it better…” he trailed off in mock innocence.

Marinette smiled.  “Is this a good time to tell you about my magic kisses?”

“Ooh, another perk for our arrangement.  The list keeps growing,” he grinned at her before pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

Chapter 16

Tags:

@dickinette-february @demonicbusiness @ichigorose @iloontjeboontje @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @golden-promises @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @laurcad123

[clumsytornado]

ML HM SIDE NINO AU

(Yes I know the title sucks but I'll think of something better)

Nino felt lonely.

This is the 12th time Alya has ditched him and he's exhausted of listening to her excuses about how she has to babysit her sisters when she doesn't have to.

He knows she's lying to him. He went to suprise her at her house and found Nora with the twins and Nora clearly confused since she thought Alya was with him.

He's not confronted her as of yet because she probably has a good reason for it. What makes it worse is Adrien isn't free to hang out with him either.

Or so he says.

Nino isn't stupid and Paris isn't large. It's easy to spot a blonde model talking to a certain bluenette( Not Marinette). Nino's happy Adrien has a friend in Kagami, he just wishes Adrien could tell him that instead of lying which Adrien does really well.

The lies flow smoothly out of his best friend's tongue just as easy as it was to breathe. Nino's seen him lie and honestly Adrien can convince anyone about anything. It's terrifying and amazing at the same time.

Sometimes it even fools Nino. Sometimes.

Ironically he doesn't even know if Adrien is dating Kagami and he's his best friend. He doesn't even know how to ask Adrien about it and shouldn't Adrien tell him about it?

After a week of overthinking about it he finally decides to ask Adrien about it when Alya of all people tells him that Adrien and Kagami broke up.

And he didn't even know they were dating.

He wonders why Adrien doesn't tell him. He wonders if Adrien is even affected by it because if you see the smile on his face, you'll be fooled.

He did ask Adrien about it but he said it was fine and brushed him away.

Nino had to admit it hurt but he understood, Adrien needs his own space and anyway Nino blames Gabriel Agreste for it.

Gabriel Agreste.

Nino doesn't know where to start but he knows if he does, he risks getting akumatised and he doesn't want that to happen again, not after last time.

Alya told him about a him being a sentimonster and how his senti self would have done something had it not been for Ladybug's quick thinking.

What's bad is the fact that Hawkmoth knows his identity and he used him to get to Ladybug. He won't blame Ladybug for not trusting him again.

Maybe that's why Alya is avoiding him. She's afraid.

It's the worst thought Nino could have had. He still doesn't even understand the sentimonster concept. And how does Hawkmoth have 2 miraculouses? It's confusing and depressing at the same time.

He pushes all these emotions down and listens to his music, while on the bridge. He cannot risk getting akumatised. He is done letting people down.

That's before he spots Rena Rouge and LB on the roof of a nearby building. It's suprising how close they've become or how Rena joins for every villain fight or the fact that Alya keeps lying to him eventhough he knows her identity.

He frowns before noticing a presence behind him.

He turns only to find Chat Noir looking at the duo on the roof as well.

Looks like he's not the only one who's been mislead nowdays.

"Hey Chat Noir", he greets the hero in black.

"Oh hi you're Nino right, the DJ?"

Nino doesn't know whether to be insulted that even after so many encounters Chat Noir isn't sure he's Nino or to be complimented by the fact that Chat remembers he is a DJ.

"Yep I'm the guy who makes music. So what's the hero of Paris doing talking with me and not by Ladybug's side?" he asks curious to know the answer.

"Aah well Ladybug kind of defeated the akumatised villain before I arrived so I guess i have free time now", he replies hand behind on his neck and laughing weakly.

Nino can see plainly behind his happy face. He's clearly upset but pretending not to be. Hmmmm reminds him of someone.

Chat's looking back at the fox and bug duo and his smile drops for a second. It's so subtle and lasts for such a shirt time you would miss it if you weren't watching him closely.

Nino can empathise with him and decides that since he's all alone, with Adrien doing something and Alya ditching him (even his brother Chris is on a field trip with his mom) ,he asks Chat if he wants to hang out since he has nothing to do.

He didn't even get to hang out with Chat even when he was Carapace. This might give him a chance to actually talk to the hero without the looming threat of an akuma.

Happily, Chat agrees.

While talking with Chat he figures out they have a lot of interests in common and he even let's Chat to listen to his music which Chat appreciates.

Nino's just so glad to finally have someone to talk to that he doesn't realise he's telling Chat about Alya ditching him( well not the Rena part) and Adrien never showing up.

It's kind of a relief to talk to someone who's not Alya or Adrien about these kind of things because well they wouldn't understand and he doesn't want them to know.

"So this guy Adrien he keeps leaving you hanging", Chat asks his head away from Nino.

"It's not his fault though. It's his father's fault for keeping him cooped up in the swanky mansion all day. I mean the boy needs sunlight" Nino jokes and Chat chuckles at him.

"But really the dude has a schedule of the next 3 years planned out and has absolutely no free time", Nino complains to Chat.

He still has free time to see Kagami and Marinette and anyone else who isn't you.

He pushes that thought down. No he is not doing that right now.

"I think all you have to do is talk to your friend about it. Things will go back to normal in no time" Chat replies enthusiastically.

Nino wished he shared Chat's optimism because he didn't.

"It's not just that. It's the fact that even if I do ask him something, he'll find a way to deflect the question and continue talking about some other topic. What makes it worse is his this extraordinary ability to lie. It even fools me! And what makes it even worser is that he has to lie to me! I don't know why he has to lie to me, I would support him throughout anything. I'm his best friend. If he can't trust me with his secrets, who can he trust?"

Nino didn't mean to rant but once he started, he couldn't stop and saying it out loud that Adrien didn't trust him, it made him feel more depressed. And that once joyful atmosphere created by Chat's presence deflated.

"It can't be that bad", Chat said, but even he seemed worried and a bit sad.

"I'm sorry for all of that. I shouldn't have said it", Nino sighed his head in his hands.

"Don't sweat it", Chat replied before the shriek of the ring beeping caused both of them to jump.

"Seems like I have to go. Nice talking to you Nino and don't feel bad about it okay", he said it so gently and kindly Nino could almost believe him.

In the distance he saw Alya walking to their agreed meeting spot and she was smiling.

He has to confront her. After all that talking with Chat he has to.

Alya's face beamed when she saw him. His didn't.

"Hey Nino."

"Alya."

"Wait you didn't say hey to me, is there something wrong", she worried looking at him and checking if he had a fever.

"Yes there is, you're an hour late for our date for the twelfth time", he sighed, upset and angry.

"Well you know the twins were-"

He interrupted her before she continued to make up her fictional lie.

"Cut the crap Alya, I saw Rena on the roof with Ladybug. If you didn't want me to find out you shouldn't have gone to a roof where everyone can see you", he cried out.

"Oh ummmm well" she stammered.

That's when he saw it.

The miraculous.

She had it with her. She didn't give it back to Ladybug.

"Alya why do you have your fox necklace?"he asks with dread.

Alya froze.

Alya never froze.

"I-I-I " she kept stammering, her eyes never looking at his face.

He let her go on waiting patiently for an explanation.

"I couldn't trust you."

She whispers it so sofly you would think that you were hearing things.

Nino stopped breathing.

If your girlfriend of 2 and a half years and your best friend cannot trust you, who will?

Nino should be angry or upset or even screaming but he's just disappointed in himself.

He can't blame Alya for it. After that recent episode of sentinino he wouldn't trust himself either.

"I'm sorry I keep lying to you but I can't telk you everything because it's too dangerous. Afther what happened last time and then even Ladybug and now Hawkmoth knows and it's so complicated"

She goes on frantically but all Nino hears is that she couldn't trust him and on top of that Adrien doesn't either.

He needs to get away. He needs to be alone.

"Sorry Alya, I -I need to go" he says quickly and turns around to get away. Away from this situation and away from these negative thoughts.

He hears her calling out to him but she doesn't follow him and maybe that's for the better really.

But seems like luck just isn't on his side.

He sees him.

Adrien

Who is supposed to be in a fencing class.

Nino calms himself down and decides not to overthink. The simplest thing is that the class got canceled or ended early or something.

Just to be sure, Nino sends Adrien a text asking him if he's free now.

Nino observes as Adrien receives the text, frowns as he reads it, and sends a reply and puts the phone back.

Nino looks at his own phone just to see that Adrien replied that he's still at his fencing class.

Adrien lied to him.

Nino wants the ground to gulp him whole.

He's not even angry at Alya and Adrien. He's angry at himself for making them not trust him. He's a terrible friend and a boyfriend.

As all those painful emotions and negative thoughts that he pushed down come rushing above and make him feel even worse.

He's so consumed by the self hate that he doesn't see the akuma coming.

Here you go @marichat-ninoir-for-life

[backtobackbakubabe]

I am the Alpha Now Part 20

Bakugo x Reader

Words : 4082

Masterlist

Reader is from America and somewhat of a delinquent with an alpha quirk that allows her to turn into a wolf as well as bond with dogs. She is sent to UA to straighten out her attitude. She ends up in a power struggle with none other than our favorite hot head. Words in Italics are words said telepathically.

**********************************************************************

Your phone was blowing up. Notification after notification until finally you heard your boyfriend groan, “Check your phone already dumbass.”

You took a deep breath and cracked your eyes open. Your head was on Bakugo’s chest and you weren’t really in the mood to move. Your phone had other ideas though as it continued to buzz on the nightstand. You reluctantly pulled away from your boyfriend and rolled over to grab your phone. Bakugo was quick to throw his arm back around you and hug you from behind, peppering kisses on your shoulders.

You grabbed your phone and was alarmed to see that you had dozens of notifications amongst several apps. Your Facebook, your Twitter, your Instagram, hell even your long-forgotten Tumblr page had alerts. Nothing however compared to your overflowing text messages.

The first one you opened was from a friend back home that you hadn’t even spoken too since moving to Japan. No words, no context. Just a link to a news article. You clicked it and felt your blood turn cold. In front of you was a picture of you covered in blood, alpha teeth bared, claws out, looking absolutely feral.

Bakugo felt you tense up and put his chin on you shoulder pulling you closer to him, “What’s up? Who’s been bugging you all morning?”

You immediately hid your phone from his view. “He did it…. Dabi, he- he leaked my secrets all over the internet.” You knew there was no point in hiding it. He would be able to look it up. You were sure people were probably sending him the same links, he just values his sleep more than people and his phone was on do not disturb. You handed him your phone and got up to go to the bathroom.

At first, he grabbed your wrist, but quickly realized you needed space, so he let you go.

You stared at yourself in the mirror as your skin began to heat up. Sure, you graduated from UA but there was no way you’d be a hero now. What about Katsuki? Would you hurt his reputation by dating him? Would you ruin his plans of being the number one hero? Could you stay here? In this house full of heroes?

Your instincts were screaming for you to run. To get the hell out of here. But you couldn’t. You refused to leave your pack again, and that included Katsuki. Even if you had to go into hiding, you would never cut yourself off from him again.

You splashed some cold water in your face and counted in your head until your breathing became regular again. It had taken you all the way to thirty-five.

You walked back out into the room to find Bakugo sitting up with his head in his hands. Your phone was on the floor in front of him. You had needed your space, now you were going to give him his. He needed to be able to process this without you clinging to him.

You picked up your phone and saw that he hadn’t even made it through the whole article. He stopped when he got to a still shot from a video of you tearing a man’s arm off. You cringed and exited the article before you could see more. You didn’t need to read it, you were there, you know how it went. You were sure they spun it in some awful way to make it even worse, but at the end of the day you had done terrible things. So, they were allowed to say whatever they wanted.

You pulled open a new tab and started to look at flights back home. America was a little more lenient with vigilante behavior and while they still hold their heroes to the ridiculously high standard of not killing villains… they also tended to look the other way when it happened. It was a broken system that you had wanted nothing to do with, but now it might your only option.

You were pulled from your thoughts when you felt two arms circle your middle and pull you down until you sitting in Bakugo’s lap. “I already knew about some of this stuff… Mercy told me… but having to see it… Shit y/n…”

You were glad he couldn’t see your face because you were in absolute agony. You had disappointed him. The only person to ever give a fuck about you. And it hurt.

He could feel your anguish and pulled you tighter. “Hey, I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Your past is your past. You can’t run from it forever. You have to face it head on and I’ll be right there to help you do it.”

Your hand found his and intertwined your fingers. “You’re not disgusted with me?”

“What? No, of course not. I’m disgusted with the people who did this to you. Who hurt you and pushed you until you had no other choice but to do what you did. I’m disgusted with your parents for not taking better care of you. I’m disgusted with the fact that the system was so broken that it took a seventeen-year-old girl putting herself in danger over and over again to fix it. I’m disgusted that there was no one there to help you.” You could feel so much stress begin to seep out of you as you slowly let yourself melt into him. “You don’t have to do it alone anymore. I know you have Mercy, but now you also have me.”

Your tender moment was interrupted by a banging on your door “Y/N ARE YOU OKAY! YOUR EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE! LET ME IN!”

You untangled yourself from Bakugo and walked over to open the door. You were surprised to find that Mercy wasn’t alone. Kirishima was there too with a sad look on his face. “So uh… I’m assuming you know… I’ve been sitting out here for an hour trying to decide if I should wake you guys up.” He rubbed his neck, “I know it’s such a stupid question, but… are you okay?”

You could see the hurt in his eyes and while you didn’t want to see him sad, it was comforting to know that he still cared about you after learning about you. You reached for him and gave him a hug, “I’m obviously not okay right now, but it means the world that you care. Thank you.”

He gave you a quick squeeze. “So, should I go check on him? Or does he need a minute?”

You nodded towards Bakugo, “I think he’d appreciate the company. Let him know I’m taking Mercy for a walk, yeah?”

“You know he’s not going to like you leaving the house without him.”

You shrugged, “I’m not going far. He’ll be able to feel me through the bond if he gets nervous.”

You looked to Mercy, “Alright let’s go. I have a feeling I have a lecture coming.”

“Damn straight you do.”

The two of you left the house and walked in silence for a few minutes before Mercy stopped, “I’m very mad at you.”

You sighed. You knew this was coming. As much as you had wanted to immediately find Mercy when you came back, you were also trying to avoid this. You had failed him as an Alpha and now you had to face him. “I know. I fucked up. But I knew I had to do this alone. I had originally intended to only meet up with them. Kick some ass and come home… It obviously got a little out of control.”

He huffed in annoyance, “Obviously… But I understand why you cut off Bakugo’s bond. But why mine? If you could have just told me what you were doing, I could have helped you.”

You took a seat on a low wall and patted the top of Mercy’s head. “Because as much as I know you say you would listen to me, I know Bakugo would convince you to help him find me. He’s persuasive like that.”

Mercy growled, not liking your answer. “Okay fine… but just so you know. We know you lied. It doesn’t matter how well you think you hid it. We know. There are no lies between pack members. He’s letting you get away with it, but I’m not.”

You had a feeling he knew, but the idiot was way better at keeping secrets than you were. “Will it make you feel better if I tell you?” Mercy nodded enthusiastically. “Okay, but you can’t tell Bakugo. He’ll freak out.”

So, you told Mercy everything. Every single detail. He was fascinated at the progress you had made in the last few days. “You know Bakugo’s going to get suspicious when you can all of the sudden sustain alpha mode without shifting. Or when you can basically go feral without having to push past your limit.”

“Yeah well… we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I think more importantly we need to worry about Dabi. He’s obviously pissed I left. Shigaraki was supposed to be coming back in the next few days. He’s gonna be pissed I left. Then both of them are probably going to try and kill me.”

“Glad to know you know me so well y/n… although I’d probably wait until after you killed shit-araki before killing you.” Mercy immediately stepped between you and Dabi and bared his teeth. “You going to call Cujo off or do you want me to cremate him in front of you.”

You could feel rage coursing through you. “You fucking ASSHOLE! I did everything you said. I didn’t tell anyone about your plans and you still fucked me over! You ruined my life! WHY?!”

You swear you say something similar to regret pass over his face before he quickly schooled his expression. “You still have a job to do. Didn’t you get my text last night?”

You narrowed your eyes, “Sorry I was too busy sleeping off the torture you put me through.” You held your phone screen up so he could see, “Also, I don’t know if you noticed but there’s currently all kinds of news circulating about me right now, so, I kinda have a lot of texts to go through.”

Dabi used his finger to scroll down to his message and clicked it. “Well read it now.”

Your eyes widened, “You don’t mean… He’s back now?”

“Not only is he back, but he’s here… at your house... waiting for you.”

In seconds you had shifted and were sprinting back towards the house. You hadn’t gone far, it would only take you a few seconds to get back in wolf form.

You had to be smart about this. You couldn’t go in full force. You had to believe that Kiri and Katsuki were still alive. They were tough. If Shigaraki was as smart as everyone says he is, he’d know to keep them alive as a bargaining chip.

You skidded to a stop outside of the house. “NO! Get out of here! We can handle it. RUN!” He had to have known that wasn’t going to happen. You knew he’d be pissed but you forced your mind into his and looked through his eyes.

Kirishima was passed out on the ground, tied up but otherwise unharmed. Shigaraki was sitting in a chair next to him with his hand wrapped around Katsuki’s wrist, all but the pinky. You focused really hard so you could hear. “Tell her to come back to the house, or you can say goodbye to your hands. I’m sure you heard what I did to Overhaul.” You felt Mercy’s presence as he made his way towards the back door, waiting for the signal. You two had played this game dozens of times. Let the villain think they had you, just for Mercy to take them out.

Katsuki spit blood on to the floor. “You could take my whole arm and it wouldn’t make me do shit.”

Shigaraki cackled, “Well if you insist.”

Your eyes glowed as you kicked the door open. “You want me? Here I am. Now let him go. NOW!”

You put as much Alpha authority in your voice to make him drop Katsuki’s hand. His eyebrows shot up before he showed you his disgusting smile. “Wow that quirk really is something.” He ran a hand through Bakugo’s hair and you could see a few hairs disintegrate under his touch. You growled and your eyes glowed even brighter. “It seems you aren’t going to come quietly…” He gestured to someone behind you. “Try and keep our friend company here, while y/n and I have a little… chat.”

“Sure thing boss.” Dabi bumped your shoulder as he passed you. Making his way over to take his place behind Bakugo.

“Y/n! Stop being so stupid. Just go. I’ll be fine. PLEASE!” You could hear the desperation in his voice even through the bond, but you couldn’t react.

“Mercy is out back. As soon as I leave with Shigaraki, meet up with him and have him fill you in on what’s going on. Don’t fight me on this, I know what ‘m doing.” Dabi smirked at you, knowing you were plotting inside the bond. “Dabi, if you so much as touch him. I will kick your ass… again… and this time I won’t stop until you’re dead.”

Shigaraki squealed in delight, “Oh I love her already. Come on let’s go somewhere a little more private for… negotiations hm?”

You silently followed him through the kitchen and into the biggest garage you had ever seen. It had obviously been modified to fit all of the guys cars as well as a bunch of hero tech and equipment. The floor looked like it had some kind of mat over half of it, that would allow the heroes to spar. Man, Endeavour thought of everything. It was thankfully empty at the moment. You were going to need all the space you could get.

“Look I’m going to get straight to the point. I’m sure there’s a top of the line security system here and I know it won’t be long before the other two hero’s along with Endeavor show up and I’m not in the mood for that headache. So, you have two options and only two minutes to make your choice.” He started to pace in front of you, “Option A. Join us and we’ll put a strict do not touch order on your precious little boyfriend. You can live your life with us knowing no villain would be stupid enough to hurt him. Option B. You decide to fight me right now and we kill everyone you have ever known. But, of course we’ll leave him for last. We’ll burn and melt him little piece by little piece right in front of you. It’ll be the slowest, most agonizing death that could truly ever exist.”

He pushed a button on his watch. “Well there are your options, your time starts now.”

You heard a loud bang in the other room. A part of you was screaming for option A. To just let them take you and protect Katsuki. Did you have enough confidence that you could win this fight. Could you risk it.

“DABI SAID TO DO IT NOW! BEFORE BACKUP GETS HERE! VILLAINS AND HEROES ARE BOTH ON THE WAY. YOU NEED TO DO IT NOW!” Mercy was talking to Dabi?

“Mercy where’s Bakugo?”

“He’s fighting with Dabi right now. I told him everything, but now he’s mad at Dabi for hurting you. He won’t calm down. I’m trying to break it up. Dabi’s trying to convince him you can do it alone. He’s trying really hard to get to you right now. I don’t know if we can hold him much longer without hurting him. Please hurry.”

Shigaraki’s watch dinged, “Ok, time’s up, what’s it going to be?”

His eyes barely had time to come up from his watch before you were tackling him in wolf form. Digging your teeth into his shoulder, claws ripping at his side.

He screamed out and placed both hands on your shoulders. You immediately smelled the melting fur and skin. You pushed through it for a few more moments before letting go and jumping back. You needed to shift back to human. You needed to heal faster.

You shifted but your eyes continued to glow. Your skin started to stitch itself back together, but you were alarmed to see it was much slower than with Dabi’s quirk.

You lunged at him with your claws out and raked them across his face. And that’s how you started what felt like the longest fight of your life. A constant dance of you lunging in and him trying to grab you. He was better at hand to hand combat then you were lead to believe.

At one point you dove to the ground to avoid him. He lurked over you and you grabbed a metal pipe and swung at him. He grabbed it easily and melted one end before yanking it from your grip. He pulled it straight in the air before bringing it down hard. You moved you head out of the way at last second and the pipe lodged itself into the soft sparing mat on the floor. You rolled out of the way and jumped back to your feet.

You were ready to lunge again when you heard the door to the garage slam open.

You turned towards the noise, “KATSUKI NO!”

That’s all it took. That small distraction left a window for Shigaraki to get his hands on you.

Bakugo sprinted towards you but stopped short when he saw was happening, “That’s right. Come any closer and she’s as good as dead.” Both his arms were wrapped around you. One hand on your shoulder the other on your hip. If he hadn’t been trying to kill you it would look like a lover’s embrace.

You took in a deep breath and pushed your quirk as hard as you could. You’re healing was desperately trying to keep up with him. But it seemed that even with all of the extra training it still wasn’t a match. If you kept up like this he would eventually win.

Bakugo reached a hand out, desperate to help. To do something.

“No Katsuki. Do nothing.” You watched as he fell to his knees helpless to your alpha commands. You know you promised you would never do that to him. But you knew the consequences of you losing this fight. You couldn’t let Shigaraki get his hands on him.

He was right in front of you, the only thing between you was the pipe that was still in the ground. The melted side looked pretty sharp. You knew what you had to do.

Shigaraki continued to try and disintegrate you while you continued to try and heal yourself. It was painful and disorienting and you could feel yourself slipping under. You had to do it now. “Don’t watch Katsuki.” Katsuki lowered his head to floor in front of you. “I love you.”

“Y/N NO!!!!! PLEASE!”

You took a step towards the pipe. Shigaraki thinking you were trying to get away pulled you closer to him. Good.

You threw yourself onto the pipe. Taking him with you.

You had thought it would hurt, but if anything… you were numb. You felt Shigaraki’s arms go limp. At least you could die knowing you took the bastard with you.

******* Bakugo’s POV******

He couldn’t move. Your command wouldn’t allow it. His eyes glued to the floor. He heard the most disgusting sound of something cutting through flesh and his heart sank. He watched as blood started to pool around the metal pipe. But he still couldn’t move. And only when he realized that it wasn’t your command holding him anymore, it was his own fear did he really understand. You were gone. Your bond was gone.

This was what Mercy meant. Before it was like a closed door when you cut him off, but now it’s just… gone. Like a vacuum, had come and sucked out part of him. “No, no, no, no, NO!” His fist pounded the ground over and over again until they were bloody. Tears were streaming down his face.

He had only had you back for a few hours. You had made plans. You were supposed to live here with him. You were going to work together. He already had a ring picked out. You were supposed to be it for him. How did he let this happen? He trained his whole life to be a hero, and he couldn’t even save you.

He could feel the utter terror coming from Mercy right before it disappeared altogether. Without you there was no bond for him and Mercy. A loud howl ripped from the other room as Mercy began to frantically paw at the closed door to the garage. He was being consumed by a cold emptiness. The blood was almost touching him now, but he remained frozen to the spot. Moving would mean he’d have to see you, and there was nothing in the world that could prepare him for that.

The world was now rid of Shigaraki, but at what cost? He knew it was incredibly selfish, but he’d take Shigaraki wreaking havoc on Japan every day for the rest of his life, if he could just be able to hold you one more time. If he could tell you he loved you one more time.

A broken sob left his lips as he realized those were your last words before you died, ‘I love you’ and he hadn’t even said it back.

His head still hung with tears dripping from his nose when a hand came out to cup his cheek.

His eyes snapped up to see it was yours. When his eyes met yours, it was like he was hit with a truck as the bond suddenly reopened. “Shit, shit, y/n. God please don’t die. Stay with me.”

You gripped his hand, “Please… help me… off this fucking pipe.”

He scrambled to stand up. Pulling Shigaraki off first who he threw like a limp doll off to the side. He then gently eased you off, wincing at the awful sounds you made while he did. Your eyes continued to glow as he eased you into his lap. He looked at the hole in your stomach and sighed in relief when he saw it was slowly shrinking.

He nudged your forehead with his nose, “Hey don’t you dare fall asleep until I see that fucking hole close up.” He rocked you back and forth just kissing your face and running his hand through your hair.

At some point Dabi came in looking busted after a few rounds with Bakugo. Without saying anything he walked over to his former boss and burnt him to ashes before doing the same thing to the pipe.

He swept up he evidence and dumped it into a trash bag. “Get her cleaned up before the idiots show up. I’ll tell the league Shigaraki never showed. You tell the heroes that you fought him off and he got away with critical injuries.” He threw the bag over his shoulder as if he was Santa Clause and not a homicidal maniac.

“I will never forgive you for this. For kidnapping her. For torturing her. For dragging her into this. And especially not for putting her business out these for everyone to know. For hurting her future.” Bakugo held you tighter as if to confirm you were still there, “I don’t care what side you’re on. The next time I see you… your dead.”

Dabi hovered by the door, “Don’t worry, I’ve already been dead a long time. I won’t bother her anymore. You don’t have to worry about me…” He took a step closer to the door but looked back one more time. “I know you don’t owe me shit… but when she wakes up… can you tell her I’m sorry.”

Before Bakugo could answer the sound of the front door sounded as it slammed open followed by the voices of Todoroki, Deku, Endeavor, and Hawks. When Bakugo looked back Dabi was gone.

Mercy lead the heroes to the garage. There Bakugo told them a modified version of the truth. The entire time Hawks’ sad knowing eyes never left your limp and bloody body.

*************************

Tags : @tspice283 , @realityisoftendisapointing , @imbi-101 , @thoughtfulpandazine2, @hotarumorikawa , @huh-iwasntpayingattention , @starfishlovingbnha , @weebnumber3622 , @mixedfeeelings , @munchmunch01 , @inumorph@xxoperatexx @runrabbitrun3 @insane-without-delirium @yolei94 @let-love-bleeds-red

[improvidence318]

i said screw it so here it is

howdy howdy, this is the anon with the 20’s lingo sheet. i don’t have a tumblr (though i wish i do tbh) and realized that i don’t know how to work shit on tumblr, so i’m just sending in the sheet through a text post. i am highly aware of the amount of power i’m bestowing upon you and honestly couldn’t give a damn

A

ab-so-lute-ly: affirmative all wet: incorrect And how!: I strongly agree! ankle: to walk, i.e.. “Let’s ankle!” apple sauce: flattery, nonsense, i.e.. “Aw, applesauce!” Attaboy!: well done!; also, Attagirl!

B

baby: sweetheart. Also denotes something of high value or respect. baby grand: heavily built man baby vamp: an attractive or popular female, student. balled up: confused, messed up. baloney: Nonsense! Bank’s closed.: no kissing or making out ie. “Sorry, mac, bank’s closed.” bearcat: a hot-blooded or fiery girl beat it: scram, get lost. beat one’s gums: idle chatter bee’s knee’s: terrific; a fad expression. Dozens of “animal anatomy” variations existed: elephant’s eyebrows, gnat’s whistle, eel’s hips, etc. beef: a complaint or to complain. beeswax: business, i.e. “None of your beeswax.” Student. bell bottom: a sailor bent: drunk berries: (1) perfect (2) money big cheese: important person big six: a strong man; from auto advertising, for the new and powerful six cylinder engines. bimbo: a tough guy bird: general term for a man or woman, sometimes meaning “odd,” i.e. “What a funny old bird.” blotto (1930 at the latest): drunk, especially to an extreme bootleg: illeagal liquor breezer (1925): a convertable car bug-eyed Betty (1927): an unattractive girl, student. bull: (1) a policeman or law-enforcement official, including FBI. (2) nonesense (3) to chat idly, to exaggerate bump off: to kill bum’s rush, the: ejection by force from an establishment bunny (1925): a term of endearment applied to the lost, confused, etc. Often coupled with “poor little.” bus: any old or worn out car.

C

cake-eater: a lady’s man caper: a criminal act or robbery. cat’s meow: great, also “cat’s pajamas” and “cat’s whiskers” cash: a kiss Cash or check?: Do we kiss now or later? cast a kitten: to have a fit. Used in both humorous and serious situations. i.e. “Stop tickling me or I’ll cast a kitten!” Also, “have kittens.” cheaters: eye glasses check: Kiss me later. chewing gum: double-speak, or ambiguous talk. choice bit of calico: attractive female, student. chopper: a Thompson Sub-Machine Gun, due to the damage its heavy .45 caliber rounds did to the human body.  chunk of lead: an unnattractive female, student. clam: a dollar coffin varnish: bootleg liquor, often poisonous. copacetic: excellent crasher: a person who attends a party uninvited crush: infatuation cuddler: one who likes to make out

D

daddy: a young woman’s boyfriend or lover, especially if he’s rich. daddy-o: a term of address dame: a female. Did not gain widespread use until the 1930’s. dapper: a Flapper’s dad darb: a great person or thing. “That movie was darb.” dead soldier: an empty beer bottle. deb: a debutant. dewdropper: a young man who sleeps all day and doesn’t have a job. dogs: feet doll: an attractive woman. dolled up: dressed up don’t know from nothing: doesn’t have any information don’t take any wooden nickels: don’t do anything stupid. doublecross: to cheat, stab in the back. dough: money drugstore cowboy: A well-dressed man who loiters in public areas trying to pick up women. dry up: shut up, get lost ducky: very good dumb Dora: an absolute idiot, a dumbbell, especially a woman; flapper.

E

earful: enough egg: a person who lives the big life

F

face stretcher: an old woman trying to look young fella: fellow. As common in its day as “man,” “dude,” or “guy” is today. “That John sure is a swell fella.” fire extinguisher: a chaperone fish: (1) a college freshman (2) a first timer in prison flat tire: a bore flivver: a Model T; after 1928, also could mean any broken down car. floorflusher: an insatiable dancer flour lover: a girl with too much face powder fly boy: a glamorous term for an aviator For crying out loud!: same usage as today four-flusher: a person who feigns wealth while mooching off others.

G

gams (1930): legs gatecrasher: see “crasher” get-up (1930): an outfit. get a wiggle on: get a move on, get going get in a lather: get worked up, angry giggle water: booze gimp: cripple; one who walks with a limp.  Gangster Dion O’Bannion was called Gimpy due to his noticeable limp. gin mill: a seller of hard liquor; a cheap speakeasy glad rags: “going out on the town” clothes go chase yourself: get lost, scram. gold-digger (1925): a woman who pursues men for their money. goods, the: (1) the right material, or a person who has it (2) the facts, the truth, i.e. “Make sure the cops don’t get the goods on you.” goof: (1) a stupid or bumbling person, (2) a boyfriend, flapper. goofy: in love grummy: depressed grungy: envious

H

handcuff: engagement ring hard-boiled: tough, as in, a tough guy, ie: “he sure is hard-boiled!” hayburner: (1) a gas guzzling car (2) a horse one loses money on heavy sugar (1929): a lot of money heebie-jeebies (1926): “the shakes,” named after a hit song. heeler: a poor dancer high hat: a snob. hip to the jive: cool, trendy hit on all sixes: to perform 100 per cent; as “hitting on all six cylinders”; perhaps a more common variation in these days of four cylinder engines was “hit on all fours”.  See “big six”. hood (late 20s): hoodlum hooey:  nonsense. Very popular from 1925 to 1930, used somewhat thereafter. hop: a teen party or dance Hot dawg!: Great!; also: “Hot socks!"  Rarely spelled as shown outside of flapper circles until popularized by 1940s comic strips. hot sketch: a card or cut-up

I

"I have to go see a man about a dog.”: “I’ve got to leave now,” often meaning to go buy whiskey. icy mitt: rejection insured: engaged iron (1925): a motorcycle, among motorcycle enthusiasts iron one’s shoelaces: to go to the restroom ish kabibble (1925): a retort meaning “I should care."  Was the name of a musician in the Kay Kayser Orchestra of the 1930s.

J

jack: money Jake: great, ie. "Everything’s Jake.” Jalopy: a dumpy old car Jane: any female java: coffee jeepers creepers: a term of exclamation jitney: a car employed as a private bus. Fare was usually five-cents; also called a “nickel.” joe: coffee Joe Brooks: a perfectly dressed person; student. john: a toilet joint: establishment juice joint: a speakeasy

K

kale: money keen: appealing killjoy: a solemn person knock up: to make pregnant know one’s onions: to know one’s business or what one is talking about

L

lay off: cut the crap left holding the bag: (1) to be cheated out of one’s fair share (2) to be blamed for something let George do it: a work evading phrase level with me: be honest limey: a British soldier or citizen, from World War I line: a false story, as in “to feed one a line.” live wire: a lively person lollapalooza (1930): a humdinger lollygagger: (1) a young man who enjoys making out (2) an idle person

M

manacle: wedding ring mazuma: money milquetoast (1924): a very timid person; from the comic book character Casper mind your potatoes: mind your own business. mooch: to leave moonshine: homemade whiskey mop: a handkerchief munitions: face powder

N

neck: to kiss passionately necker: a girl who wraps her arms around her boyfriend’s neck. nifty: great, excellent noodle juice: tea Not so good!: I personally disapprove. “Now you’re on the trolley!”: Now you’ve got it, now you’re right.

O

off one’s nuts: crazy Oh yeah!: I doubt it! old boy: a male term of address, used in conversation with other males. Denoted acceptance in a social environment.  Also “old man” “old fruit.” “How’s everything old boy?” Oliver Twist: a skilled dancer on a toot: a drinking binge on the lam: fleeing from police on the level: legitimate, honest on the up and up: on the level orchid: an expensive item ossified: drunk owl: a person who’s out late

P

palooka: (1) a below-average or average boxer (2) a social outsider, from the comic strip character Joe Palooka, who came from humble ethnic roots panic: to produce a big reaction from one’s audience percolate: (1) to boil over (2) As of 1925, to run smoothly; “perk” pet: necking, only more; making out petting pantry: movie theater piffle: baloney piker: (1) a cheapskate (2) a coward pill: (1) a teacher (2) an unlikable person pinch: to arrest. Pinched: to be arrested. pinko: liberal pipe down: stop talking prom-trotter: a student who attends all school social functions pos-i-lute-ly: affirmative, also “pos-i-tive-ly” punch the bag: small talk putting on the ritz: after the Ritz Hotel in Paris (and its namesake Caesar Ritz); doing something in high style. Also “ritzy.”

Q

R

rag-a-muffin: a dirty or disheveled individual rain pitchforks: a downpour razz: to make fun of Real McCoy: a genuine item regular: normal, typical, average; “Regular fella.” Reuben: an unsophisticated country bumpkin. Also “rube” Rhatz!: How disappointing! rub: a student dance party rubes: money or dollars rummy: a drunken bum

S

sap: a fool, an idiot. Very common term in the 20s. says you: a reaction of disbelief scratch: money screaming meemies: the shakes screw: get lost, get out, etc. Occasionally, in pre 1930 talkies (such as The Broadway Melody) screw is used to tell a character to leave. One film features the line “Go on, go on – screw!"  screwy: crazy; "You’re screwy!” sheba: one’s girlfriend sheik: one’s boyfriend simolean: a dollar sinker: a doughnut sitting pretty: in a prime position skirt: an attractive female smarty: a cute flapper smudger: a close dancer sockdollager: an action having a great impact so’s your old man: a reply of irritation speakeasy: a bar selling illeagal liquor spill: to talk spoon: to neck, or at least talk of love static: (1) empty talk (2) conflicting opinion stilts: legs struggle: modern dance stuck on: in love, student. sugar daddy: older boyfriend who showers girlfriend with gifts swanky: (1) good (2) elegant swell: (1) good (2) a high class person

T

take someone for a ride: to take someone to a deserted location and murder them. tasty: appealing teenager: not a common term until 1930; before then, the term was “young adults.” tell it to Sweeney: tell it to someone who’ll believe it. tight: attractive Tin Pan Alley: the music industry in New York, located between 48th and 52nd Streets tomato: a “ripe” female torpedo: a hired thug or hitman

U

unreal: special upchuck: to vomit upstage: snobby

V

vamp: (1) a seducer of men, an aggressive flirt (2) to seduce voot: money

W

water-proof: a face that doesn’t require make-up wet blanket: see Killjoy wife: dorm roomate, student. What’s eating you?: What’s wrong? whoopee: wild fun Woof! Woof!: ridicule

X

Y

You slay me!: That’s funny!

Z

zozzled: drunk

  have fun.